The Search for Aeris
by mknote
Summary: Haunted by Aeris' death, Cloud Strife and the rest of AVALANCHE set out to do the impossible: bring the dead back to life. The first story in Frank Verderosa's FFVII Internet Series.
1. The Reluctant Mayor

_Publisher's Disclaimer: Besides this and the note at the end of the last chapter, I, mknote, did not write a single word of this story. It was entirely written by Frank Verderosa. I hope you enjoy The Search for Aeris._

CHAPTER I

THE RELUCTANT MAYOR

The Mayor of Corel sat back in his chair and looked vacantly at the heap of papers that lay on the desk in front of him. He had been working diligently, or as diligently as was possible for him, to make a dent in those papers all day, yet looking now it seemed as if he had made almost no progress. He glanced out a window to his left and saw that the sun now hung low in the sky, just peaking over the mountains of North Corel. He had been working on this paperwork all day, but he hated it, and it was slow going. How he wished he were out in those mountains right now and not stuck behind this desk!

With a shrug he turned back to his papers. He had too much work to do to let his mind wander. He reminded himself (for the millionth time, it seemed) that he had responsibilities now, and couldn't take off and leave everything on some whim like he used to in the old days. No, those days were gone, even though he had come to realize that they had been the most exciting in his life.

Still, a man had to move on. He idly scratched his right arm just above the gun grafted on it. He looked at the gun for a moment, holding it up until the sun glinted off it through the window. For all he had used this lately, Barret mused, he might as well have replaced it with a letter opener.

The door to his office opened. He turned with a frown. He knew he had to get this paperwork done, and he also knew that he would jump at any interruption as a chance to get away from it. To prevent that he had left his secretary with explicit orders that he not he disturbed.

A girl stood in the doorway, but it was not his secretary. He recognized her and his frown immediately turned into a grin.

"Tifa!" he exclaimed, getting up and striding over to her. "It's so good to see you again. I didn't know you were in town."

Barret wrapped her in a bear hug, and though she was by no means a fragile girl, she gasped for breath until he let her go.

"I just got here," she replied after a moment.

"Well, make yourself at home," he said, indicating a seat in front of his desk. He sat down behind the desk, his paperwork forgotten. "How long has it been since I last saw you, about a year I guess, eh? I can't believe it's been that long. How's everything back in Kalm? Are you doing well with your new bar? How's Cloud? Everything well, I hope?"

Tifa sat down slowly in the chair. She did not speak for a moment, and at first he thought she had just been overwhelmed from his barrage of questions, but then he realized this was not so. He and Tifa went back a long way from their days in Avalanche, and even when things had been bad Tifa had always been cheerful and optimistic. But now he saw a troubled look in her eyes.

"Is everything OK? How are things between you and Cloud?" he guessed.

"Ok, I suppose," she said with a shrug.

Obviously not good. He saw that he had guessed correctly.

"What did he do, run off on you?" The pokey haired kid had a good heart but he was so immature. Barret wondered if he was going to have to knock some sense into him.

"No, nothing like that, " Tifa said quickly with a smile, as if she understood his thoughts. She sat back in her chair and glanced out the window. Now that it came down to it she was reluctant to speak. She had never been very good about expressing her feelings for Cloud, and did not feel comfortable talking about it, even with her close friend. But after all, that was the whole reason for her being here in the first place. If she couldn't talk to Barret she couldn't talk to anyone, and if she didn't talk to anyone she thought she would go crazy.

"It's just that he's so distant," she said finally. "Sometimes it seems like he's in another world, and it's happening more and more lately. He can sit there for hours just staring into space. And the dreams. He doesn't discuss them, but I can tell he has them almost every night. He's convinced she's trying to contact him."

Barret nodded sympathetically. Tifa didn't have to tell him who 'she' was. Aeris death had hit them all hard, and no one really got completely over it. He had seen so many good people lose their lives. He still thought of Jessie, Wedge and Biggs often, and how they had talked about the good times they would have after it was all over. That would never happen now, but what could one do but go on?

"We all lost people we were close to," he said softly.

"But he's convinced she's alive," Tifa said.

Barret looked at her sharply.

"How could he think that?" he questioned. "We were all there. We all saw it. Sephiroth ran her... well, you know. No one could have survived that."

Barret shuddered at the memory.

Tifa bowed her head, obviously remembering also. But then she looked up again.

"No human could have survived it," she responded. "But Aeris was an Ancient, a Cetra. Who knows whether the same rules apply."

Barret looked at her in surprise. He had never thought of that.

"So you think it may be possible?" he asked.

"I don't know!" she answered. "I don't know what to think. I don't see how she could have survived, but what do I know about the Ancients? All I know is that Cloud is convinced she is, and he won't be whole until he finds out for sure, one way or the other."

Barret sat back in his chair. He had never been able to follow all that Ancient Cetra stuff that Aeris had spouted. It had all seemed much too complicated and not worth the effort, not when there was a gun in his hand (or on his hand, as the case may be) and a clear enemy to fight.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked.

She didn't answer at first. She got up and walked over to the window. Dusk had faded into night, and a few brighter stars now twinkled in the sky. When she spoke her back was still toward him.

"I want to find out if it is possible she survived. And if it is, I want to help Cloud find her."

Barret had kind of figured that was coming.

"How would you feel about that," he said slowly. "I mean, if it turned out she was alive?"

Tifa continued looking out the window, and for a moment he thought she wasn't going to respond. But then she turned and looked at him.

"I don't know," she said. "But Cloud can't go on like this. He has to be whole, even if it means..."

She fell silent, but Barret could finish the sentence easily enough. Still, it seemed unlikely to him it would ever come to that.

"Well I can see your dilemma, and I have to say I admire your decision. Of course I'll help you any way I can, but I don't see that there is much I can do. I never paid much attention to all that Ancients talk, and I certainly wouldn't have the slightest idea of how to look for Aeris, even if I thought there was even the slimmest chance that she was still alive."

"I know, " she said, nodding. "I didn't come here to have you find me a solution. It may be that there is no solution. I just needed someone to talk to."

"I understand," he said, then stood thinking for a moment. "Is Cloud with you?"

"Yes," she said. "I left him at the Inn. I wanted to come see you first. I was going to make some excuse but he didn't even ask me where I was going."

"It'll be good to see him again," Barret replied. "You know, I have no clue what you should do, but I think I know someone who can tell you, if anyone can. I think it might be time for us to visit another old friend."


	2. We Have a Plan

CHAPTER II

WE HAVE A PLAN

It was night. Cloud stood on a treeless hill in the dark. Rain pelted down around him, he could feel it but not see it. He could see nothing but darkness all around him. He looked up, but there was no sign of any stars or moonlight.

He turned in a slow circle, but saw no hint of where he was, or how he had gotten here, or anything at all except the darkness. But then a light slowly grew ahead of him. Faint at first, but then growing until he could see a small figure.

The light continued to brighten. He could see Aeris clearly now, for the light seemed to emanate from her. He took a step toward her but then stopped. In the growing light he saw that he stood on the edge of a chasm. The ground dropped off in front of him as if it had been cut by a knife, and he could see nothing below but inky blackness. Aeris stood on the other side, close, but unreachable. She seemed to be beckoning to him.

He looked around, but the chasm seemed to stretch in both directions for as far as he could see He could not reach her.

He looked at her again, and it was then he saw the dark shadow growing behind her.

He shouted a warning, but though she didn't appear that far away, she did not seem to hear. The shadow grew deeper and larger behind her while she continued to beckon to him, unaware of the danger. Burning green eyes appeared in the blackness behind her and a long sword materialized out of the darkness and hovered above her head.

"Look out," he yelled as loud as he could. "Look out, behind you!"

She didn't hear. The sword swung up slowly and he knew in an instant it would descend.

With a cry of rage he flung himself into the chasm. He felt himself falling, and suddenly he could hear her voice calling his name, echoing in the darkness as he plummeted downward.

"Cloud!:"

He awoke with a start to see Tifa looking at him, concern on her face.

"You've had another dream," she said softly. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, " he said quickly. "I'm fine."

He stood up and looked around. They had camped beneath a small stand of elm trees at the foot of a hill. The sun, low in the east, cast long early morning shadows around them.

Tifa waited, hoping maybe Cloud would say more, but not really expecting it.

He didn't.

"You better pack up your gear," she said finally, "We need to get an early start if you want to be there by noon."

He nodded and started to get his gear together.

"So you're finally up!" Barret came striding over and gave him a slap on the back that nearly sent him sprawling. "Thought you were going to sleep away the whole morning. And a fine morning it is, I might add."

Tifa was glad that Barret had insisted on coming along with them, although she had been kind of surprised that he could leave his office on such short notice. But when she had broached the subject to him he had just snorted dismissively and told her he had only taken the job in order to get Corel back on it's feet, and it was doing well now. He hadn't taken a vacation since he had become Mayor, and if they didn't like it they could just fire him and find someone else to take the job, though personally he doubted they would be able to find someone foolish enough.

He took a deep breath and filled his lungs with the cool morning air.

"Ahh," he said pleasantly, "It's good to be on the road again."

Cloud smiled in spite of himself at his old friends enthusiasm. It was good to see Barret again. He had been surprised when Tifa had brought Barret back to the Inn, even more surprised when they told him their plan. He had tried to hide the visions he was getting from Tifa, but obviously he hadn't done a very good job. He had been half afraid if he told her she would have dismissed it as nonsense, or perhaps even thought he was losing his mind, as he had to admit he sometimes thought himself. He should have known better. He was grateful she understood and was trying to help him, though he hadn't told her so.

"We better get going," was all he said.

They finished packing their gear and were soon on the road again. Though Shinra Corp had been sucking the planet dry and no one in the party was sorry to see it go, having had more than a little hand in bringing about it's destruction, there were some disadvantages. The roads were in poor repair and vehicles were scarce. Not that any of them minded very much. They had done quite a bit of their earlier traveling on foot, and were well accustomed to the road.

Soon the flat plains around them began to rise up and the vegetation become scarce. The road wound up slowly into the hills and passed into a steep sided canyon. They came around a bend and saw a town carved into the hillside ahead, covering the entire side of the mountain. Perched at the very top they could just made out the dark silloutte of an observatory.

"Its good to be back," Barret remarked and led them up a rough cut stairway into Cosmo Canyon.

* * *

"Welcome, friends"

"Red, it's so good to see you," Tifa exclaimed, walking up beside him and rubbing the fur under his neck. He lifted his head for her to get better access. Cloud couldn't help but smile at the sight of this huge fire red beast, with rapier sharp claws that could tear a man apart in an instant, being petted like a housecat. Even though he knew the look was deceiving and Red was just about the calmest and most peaceful person (or creature, but he really couldn't think of Red as anything other than a person) he had ever met.

"Indeed it has been a while," Red replied. "Too long, in fact. My studies have kept me busy, but that has not stopped me from thinking about you all often. You are all well, I hope?"

He looked quickly at each of them in turn. Barret responded in the affirmative. Tifa just looked at Cloud, who said nothing.

"Ah yes," Red said quickly. "I have been looking into your theory. If you wish we can go up to my chambers and discuss my findings, or perhaps you are too weary from the road and need to rest first?"

"No, " Cloud said quickly before the others could speak. "We're not tired at all. Let's go."

Red slowly led them through the town and up to the observatory. Tifa and Cloud had readily agreed with Barret when he had suggested that they contact Red, and they had sent word ahead to let Red know they were coming and the nature of their quest. Cosmo Canyon held a huge storehouse of knowledge about the planet and all who had lived on it, including the Ancients. If there was anyplace in the world where they could find out what they were looking for, this would be it.

The observatory hadn't changed at all since they had last seen it. Red had kept it just the way it was in honor of Bugenhagen. He walked into the laboratory and sat down on the floor, the others gathering around him.

"I have been searching through the records since you first contacted me, " Red stated getting right down to it. "I am afraid that what I have found is not promising. There is no way she could have survived Sephiroth's attack. However, " he said quickly as Cloud started to speak, "there is some evidence that in certain circumstances an Ancient can be brought back from the dead. Although there is precious little information about death and/or resurrection of an Ancient. I have come across a few items that hinted at it. There is one thing I could find that seemed to hold some promise. There were two references to a special type of materia, a Crystal Materia, that apparently could revive the spirit of an Ancient. Both references were from some of the oldest books here in the Canyon, both written in ancient languages that were difficult to translate, but the fact that it was mentioned on two separate occasions, in two separate books, leads me to believe that it could exist, though whether it actually can bring Aeris back is unknown."

"But you think it might be possible," Cloud asked.

"Maybe," Red replied. "There is so much about the Ancients that is lost forever. I can't say for sure what is possible when it comes to them."

"So how do we find this Crystal Materia?" Barret asked.

"The books did not say," Red answered.

"You mean you have no idea where to find it?" Tifa asked.

"Correct," Red said.

"So we're basically right back where we started from," Cloud said gruffly.

"Maybe not," Red replied. "There was a reference in one of the books to another tome. I have looked though our archives and it is not in them. But a long time ago, when Cosmo Canyon was threatened with invasion, some of the books from our libraries were stored away in a secret chamber. Even after the danger had passed not all of them were returned to the library. I'm not sure what books they were but I know they were some of the oldest in the Canyon. It is quite possible that the book we are looking for is among them. But it is not a safe place, and I wanted to be sure of your determination to follow this quest before I suggested it. It is not in a place where I would go on a whim."

He sat up and looked at each of them carefully.

"So where is it?" Barret blurted out.

"In a chamber below the cave of the Gi."

* * *

Tifa felt a touch of fear rise unbidden within her as the door to the Gi cave slowly opened. She remembered full well how close they had come to death the first time they had crossed this threshold. She glanced quickly at the others, but they were all looking at the door as well. It was all right to feel some fear, she thought, as long as she didn't show it.

"Do you really think anything is left in there?" Barret questioned. "I thought we cleaned the place out the last time we were here."

"The dead abide here," Red replied solemnly. "There may be fewer than last time we entered, but you can never remove them permanently. Shall we go?"

Red slowly padded into the cave, and the others followed. Cloud first, then Tifa, with Barret acting as rear guard. Tifa looked around quickly as they entered but saw nothing out of the ordinary in the dim light. The only thing she noticed was the musty smell and the abundance of cobwebs. Apparently the dead, just like some living she could think of, were not fond of dusting.

They proceeded down into the lower chambers without incident. Well, not entirely without incident. It was true that nothing disturbed the party as it moved through the darkness, but Tifa could not shake the feeling, that grew stronger as they slipped deeper into the caverns, that something was nearby. She felt... she could only describe it as some kind of _presence_, and the feeling soon became overpowering. She kept glancing sharply around, for she kept thinking that she could see something just out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked that way there was nothing there. And there were sounds too. Furtive movements in the darkness around them. Or so it seemed. Yet even when she concentrated solely on listening, she could not really be sure what she was hearing was real.

They reached the bottom cavern and followed Red into the maze of tunnels.

The others said nothing, and for a while she thought that she was the only one who felt it. But gradually she noticed the others looking this way and that, and stopping for a moment to stare off into the darkness. The feeling of a presence was so overpowering now that she almost wanted to scream.

The others must have felt exactly the same, for Barret suddenly called out from behind her; "Quit yer sneaking around and show yourself. Then we can get this over with and all go home!"

The others stopped and tensed, looking around in all directions as Barret's words echoed through the caverns. The words died away into silence, but still no one moved. Finally Red turned to Barret.

"That was unwise," he said casually.

They continued on their way. Red turned suddenly to the left and slipped through a narrow opening that they had not seen on their first visit. He had been leading them at a cautious pace up to this point, but now he sped up, as a man tends to do when his goal is in sight.

"We're almost there," he commented.

At first Tifa was glad for Barret's outburst, for it had broken the tension, and the presence seemed to have disappeared. She began to think that it had all been in her mind, and that she had been getting nervous over nothing. But now the feeling suddenly came back with a vengeance. She stumbled for a moment, almost overwhelmed by it. Furtive sounds and shadows surrounded her, whirled around her in every direction, everywhere!

Get a hold of yourself, she thought angrily. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look only at Cloud's back. Then she marched deliberately after him, resolutely ignoring the dark movements in the shadows around her.

The party came to a sudden halt, and Tifa almost stumbled into Cloud. She had been concentrating so much on his back that she hadn't seen they had come to the end of the corridor and now stood in front of a rough cut stone door.

Without hesitation Red pushed the door, which opened smoothly and without a sound. When they entered the room beyond Tifa saw that it was circular and lined with dusty books.

"Here we are," Red said with satisfaction.

The feeling of the presence had not diminished, but now it seemed to be coming only from behind them, through the door and the corridor beyond.

"Please close the door," she heard herself say.

But even before the sentence was finished Barret had done just that. There was a heavy wooden beam beside the door and Barret used that to bar it as well. For some reason Tifa felt tremendously relieved.

Red was already carefully looking over the books. Tifa glanced at the books for a few moments, thinking maybe they could help Red look, but she saw that they were all in some strange language she did not understand. Barret walked around idly poking in corners and knocking softly on bookcases, apparently looking for some secret compartments, or walls. Cloud just stood near the center of the room and stared at nothing in particular.

It seemed like a long time, but it was only a few minutes before Red broke the silence.

"I found it," he said. "Now we have to..."

He was interrupted as the room shook. They all jumped, startled by the booming sound that reverberated around them. Something had pounded on the door!

It took only a moment for Cloud to compose himself.

"Something wants in," he remarked.

Barret stood back, looking at the door.

"Something big," he commented.

They all looked at Red.

"Apparently there is something still down here after all," he said thoughtfully.

"Is there any other way out of here?" Barret asked.

Red shook his head.

"Figures," Barret replied.

The room shook again, and the door shuddered.

Cloud took a step toward the door.

"Who's there?"

He jumped back as the blow came again. This time they heard the splintering of wood from the beam holding the door closed.

Cloud looked at Red again.

"Don't suppose there's much chance it'll just go away," he asked.

"Not likely," Red replied.

"Kind of figured that. All right folks, get ready."

Cloud slid his sword silently from it's sheath. Barret moved to stand in front of the bookcases directly opposite the door. Red moved to the left of Cloud and Tifa to the right. She felt her nervousness rising again. It had been a while since any of them had done this, and she wasn't really sure how much their skills had deteriorated. She had spent plenty of time practicing, but that was always different from the real thing. She tried to clear he mind of doubts and focus only on her opponent as she had been taught.

Cloud edged up closer to the door, then used his sword to slip the beam off. For a moment nothing happened. Then the door opened.

It did not burst open, as they had all expected. It opened slowly, almost casually, and for a moment they could see nothing beyond it. Dark shadows seemed to swirl in the air out there, then, like dark tendrils, they drifted into the room. Once in the room they thickened, until slowly they took on solid form, and Tifa could see half a dozen skeletal faces staring at them.

"Time to rock and roll," she heard Barret shout. Then there was a blast of gunfire as he opened up.

Tifa leaped and kicked the nearest skeleton warrior in the face. For a moment she thought her foot would just pass through it, but then felt a very satisfying thump and the warrior back. For a short while there was no time to think as she let her instincts, which apparently weren't as rusty as she thought, take over. They all fell back into the battle pattern that had been so familiar to them. Cloud in the center of things, swinging his sword like a madman. No one, or thing for that matter, could stand in front of him. Red and Tifa on either side of him, protecting his flanks. Barret in the back, picking off any enemy when the opportunity presented itself, or lending his firepower to any of the others if they seemed to get in trouble. The battle was over quickly, but even after the last warrior fell, Tifa could still feel the _presence_.

Barret apparently didn't share her feeling this time.

"Looks like we kicked butt," he said, grinning.

Then a figure appeared in the doorway. But it was not a skeleton warrior. It was the last person anyone of them would have expected to see, even though she had been so much in their thoughts lately. Tifa cleared her mind and thought of Zangan's training, all the while concentrating on her fist.

They all knew it couldn't really be Aeris, but the vision was so startlingly real that the others just stared for a moment. But that was enough. In an instant Aeris vision vanished, to be replaced by a huge clawed skeleton that rushed directly at Cloud, who was closest to the door.

Cloud tried to bring up his sword, knowing it would be too late, but just as the creature was upon him Tifa sprang in from the side and drove her fist with all her power straight into the creatures breastbone. With a horrible screech the creature rose up in anguish, and then suddenly collapsed with a clatter into a pile of bones on the floor.

For a moment they all stood there in silence.

Finally Barret spoke.

"Nice form. Now, I think it's time we got our asses out of here."

* * *

Cloud, Tifa and Barret sat around the eternal fire of Cosmo Canyon later that night. Red was up in the observatory poring over the book. He had told them he would let them know when he found anything, but who knew how long that would take. Of the three of them Barret seemed enormously pleased with himself.

"Man, we were slicing and dicing just like old times," he said. "Cloud, you haven't lost a step with that sword. I knew you were good, but I'd forgotten how good."

"Thanks," Cloud replied. "You're still pretty handy with that gun as well."

The truth of the matter was that Cloud felt better than he had in a long time. Although, as noted earlier, he was more than happy to see Shinra Co. destroyed, the fact of the matter was that peace was not the best of times for a trained mercenary. With Sephiroth and Shinra out of the picture, there was not much work available for him. Even the monsters that had terrorized the land had mostly disappeared now that Shinra's Mako Reactors were no longer creating them. He had spent most of the last year helping Tifa with the bar, and it had been more satisfying than he realized to finally get to use his real skills again. He had a feeling that Barret felt much the same.

"And Tifa," Barret continued. "That was awesome. I hope I never get you mad enough to use that on me."

Tifa just smiled. Cloud had not thanked her for what she had done. Not because he was ungrateful but because he knew there was no need. He would thank her by saving her neck in the next battle. It had happened often enough in the past.

"Look, here comes Red," Barret said suddenly.

They turned to see Red padding down the stairway and coming over to them. He sat down between Cloud and Tifa.

"Well, I have some information," he said. "the Crystal Materia was originally in the Temple of the Ancients."

"Which we destroyed to get the black materia," Cloud reminded him.

"As I am well aware," Red replied. "There was nothing more about it's location in that book. But with that clue I started looking in some more recent books on the Temple. I found out that the Crystal Materia was removed by Infalna."

"Aeris mother," Tifa said.

"Indeed," Red said. "Apparently sometime after Shinra killed Professor Gast she escaped from them. She made her way to the Temple and took the Crystal Materia. Why she wanted it I cannot say, but she was recaptured soon after by the Turks."

"So Shinra got the Crystal Materia?" Cloud exclaimed.

"Yes," Red replied, "but they didn't know what it was. It does not look like ordinary materia. They didn't know it was materia. They didn't know what it was at all. They just knew it was some kind of Ancient artifact, so they stored it with all their other Ancient artifacts."

"And just exactly where was that?" Cloud asked, sure he wasn't going to like the answer.

"In a vault below Shinra Headquarters in Midgar," Red responded.

"Oh brother," Barret exclaimed.

"It figures," Cloud said, shaking his head. Midgar had nearly been destroyed by Meteor, and now it was completely abandoned. Abandoned by people, at least. It was probably the only city left on the planet, however, that was still crawling with monsters.

"So we have to go to Midgar," Tifa said.

"I'm afraid so," Red replied.

"And you know what that means," Cloud said.

"We're going to need our Materia," Barret responded.

"And you know what _that_ means," Tifa added.

"We're going to have to pay a visit to Wutai," Cloud finished.


	3. The Great Minton Leaf Episode

CHAPTER III

THE GREAT MINTON LEAF EPISODE

It was mid afternoon two days later when they reached Wutai. The town had grown considerably since they had last been there. The fall of Shinra and their restrictive trade polices had opened the continent up to free trade practices, and some shrewd bargaining by Godo with their neighboring villages had greatly improved the economy. Looking around the party could see that the town had probably doubled in size.

"This place is almost as crowded as Midgar used to be," Barret commented as they walked through the busy streets.

"But at least there's no sign of slums," Red observed. The others had been quite pleased when he had suggested he go along with them, and of course had agreed immediately. He knew it would take time away from his studies, but it seemed well worth it. The best way to learn of the world was to actually experience it, and he knew that he had learned more than he ever would from any books the last time he had journeyed with his friends.

They threaded their way through the crowd until they saw Godo's house ahead. Even as they approached they saw a diminutive figure rushing out towards them.

"I can't believe you're here!" Yuffie exclaimed as soon as she reached them. "What a stroke of luck. I need your help. My father is very ill, and the only way to save him is up on Da-Chou. C'mon!"

She took a few steps and then turned to look at them as they stood there bewildered. This was hardly the reception they had been expecting.

"What are you waiting for?" she cried. "It's a matter of life and death. Hurry!"

She turned again and ran off down the road. The others had no choice but to follow.

She ran through the town and then out along the path the led up into the foothills of Da-Chou. They finally caught up with her at she was laboring up the steep path.

"Yuffie, hold on," Barret said gruffly, panting slightly. "What the hell is this all about? If this is some kind of trick I swear I..."

"No trick, " she said, looking candidly at him, but not slowing down. "My father is very ill. He will die soon unless something is done. I've been told that he can only be treated with the leaves from a Minton tree, and the only place they grow is up on the mountain top above Da-Chou. We've got to go get him some."

They continued up the path, slowly passing the huge stone faces carved into the native rock so long ago that no record of it's creators was in existence.

"So why didn't you just come up here sooner," Cloud asked. "What do you need us for?"

"The Minton tree grows above the trail on top of the mountain. There is no path up to it. I can't reach it," she answered.

She kept going up, and the others fell silent and followed. No matter how deceitful she had been in the past, she appeared sincere this time.

They reached the top of the path. Here the trail led into a narrow cave, but she stopped before it and looked up.

"There," she said, pointing at the sheer cliff that rose up above them for perhaps twenty feet until it reached the pinnacle of the mountain. They could make out a few twisted branches covered with gold tinted leaves on a small tree at the top. "That's it."

They all looked at the cliff in silence for a moment. Then Barret spoke.

"What do we look like, mountain goats?"

"I don't see any easy way up, " Cloud agreed. "This isn't exactly our line of expertise."

"You've got to help," Yuffie said desperately. "You're my only hope. He'll die if he doesn't get the cure soon."

Tifa looked up at the cliff, then at Cloud.

"We've got to do something," she said.

Cloud shook his head and looked carefully at the cliff face. Finally he nodded.

"It's not completely sheer, " he said. "There are some handholds. I guess it couldn't hurt to try."

His slipped off his sword and laid it on the ground. He ran his hands along the rock, looking up to try and see which way afforded the most handholds. Then he slowly started to work his way up.

Even though it wasn't that far it was a painstakingly slow process. He had to test every handhold and toehold carefully before he could trust it with his weight. He almost slipped twice, but each time caught himself just in a nick of time. In this way he slowly inched his way within six feet of the top, but then the rock became smooth above him, and try as he might he saw no way to cover the final distance from this position. He tried to move sideways along the rock face to find an alternate route, but he couldn't go very far.

"Damn," he muttered. He certainly didn't want to go back down and start all over now that he was this close, but he could see no way to reach the top.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked from below.

Suddenly he had an idea.

"There are no more handholds. I can't reach the top, but if someone else could come up here, I think I could boost them to the top," he replied.

Barret and Tifa both looked at Yuffie.

"What?" she said, then took a step back. "Oh no. Sorry, but I can't"

"Even to save your father?" Barret said pointedly.

"No really, " she said. "I can't. I'm afraid of heights."

"I'm surprised you admit to being afraid of anything," Barret replied. "C'mon, Yuffie."

She looked up at Cloud, and it seemed she had real fear in her eyes.

"Please don't make me," she said softly.

They looked at her in silence for a moment.

"All right," Tifa said resignedly. "I'll go."

"Tifa!" Barret interjected.

"It's all right," Tifa replied. "She's too scared to go. I don't think it would be right to try to force her. I wouldn't feel very good to see her fall."

"Then I'll go," Barret said.

"Don't be an idiot," she answered. "You're no climber, and it would take all three of us to boost you up there. Besides, I watched how Cloud got up, and it didn't look too difficult."

Barret had no answer to that. He looked at Red.

"I'm afraid she's right," he gave his opinion without being asked. "I'd go myself, of course, but I am afraid that climbing it not one of my better skills."

"All right then," Tifa said, and walked over to the cliff face. She tested some handholds and then started up. She went more swiftly than Cloud, for she really did remember basically what path he had taken. It wasn't long before she was directly below him.

It was a bit difficult to get up next to him, but eventually she succeeded. Holding onto an outcrop of rock that he knew to be secure firmly with one hand, he let her climb up onto his shoulders, supporting her with the other hand. She reached up and pulled herself over the top.

"Good going," Yuffie cried from below. "Now get a branch with a couple of leaves on it."

Tifa stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She looked out at the expanse below and for the first time noticed what a gorgeous view they had. She could see the entire town of Wutai and far into the hills beyond. Then she turned and walked over to the small tree, only a sapling really, and broke off a branch with half a dozen leaves on it.

"Throw it down," Yuffie called. "I'll take it right back to my father. There's no time to lose. Then I'll meet you in my basement. We can talk then."

Tifa dropped the branch and Yuffie caught it as it came down, then she took off like a shot.

"Yuffie, wait for us," Cloud called. "I wanted to see your father."

"No time," she called back. "I've got to get this to him. He's much too sick to see anyone anyway. I'll give him your regards,"

Then she was off down the hill as fast as she could go.

Tifa swung around and slid down to where she hoped Cloud could reach her.

"She took off awfully quickly," he commented from below her.

"Well, she wanted to get the plant back to her father as quickly as possible," Tifa replied. "That's understandable."

She held onto an outcropping of rock and swung her legs lower. Suddenly she felt Clouds powerful grip.

"No, something isn't right," he said, his suspicions aroused. "It all seems too much of a coincidence with us arriving here just in a nick of time."

He swung her down beside him and held her until she got a grip of her own.

"I'm going after her," he said.

He worked his way down as quickly as possible until he was less than ten feet above the path, then let go and dropped to the ground. In a moment he was after her.

Tifa tried to hurry as well but she found that going down was much more difficult than up had been. It was harder to find toeholds below her than it had been to find handholds above.

"I'm following Cloud," she heard Barret comment below. "If this was some kind of trick I swear I'll strangle that girl."

Tifa inched her way down a little lower, then glanced down to see Barret swiftly disappearing down the trail. After a moment she saw Red following him.

"Uh, Guys?" she said loudly, but they weren't paying any attention. They had just vanished out of sight when her foot slipped off it's narrow toehold. With a cry she slid down the last few feet of cliff face and landed hard on her rear end.

She sat there for a moment until the shock of it had warn off.

"Thanks a lot guys!" she yelled after them, even though she was sure they were too far away to hear. Then she stood up and dusted herself off.

"Hey, wait for me," she called and, limply slightly, trotted off after them.

* * *

Cloud caught sight of Yuffie again just as he reached the village, but the streets were still crowded and he soon lost her. She seemed to be headed straight for her home, however, which would make sense if she was bringing the leaf to Godo. So that was where he headed.

The front doors were wide open when he arrived. He stood there for a moment looking in, but no one was in the room. He heard voices coming from the hallway to the right, and one of them was a deep voice he recognized from his earlier visits. He went over to the hallway and walked down it. The voices were coming from a room off to the right, and they were plainly the voices of Godo and Yuffie.

"I am very proud of you for passing this next phase:" he heard Godo say, and then he stepped into the entrance to the room. Yuffie and an extremely healthy looking Godo both stood in front of a window opposite the door. Godo was holding the branch in his hand. They both looked at Cloud.

"Well, thanks a lot, Dad," Yuffie said immediately, strolling over to Cloud. "But I've really got to get going. Cloud and I have some things to discuss that really can't wait." She came up beside him and practically dragged him along as she went by. "We can talk some more later, I'm sure," she continued. "It's just that this is real, real important."

They were out in the hallway now, Yuffie still dragging him along. Suddenly he pulled up short.

"What the hell..." he began.

"Not here," Yuffie said as loudly as she dared. "I'll explain everything outside. I promise."

Cloud looked at her skeptically, but then followed her as she walked back out of the building. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, however, he stopped and looked at her expectantly.

"I don't suppose you would believe me if I said that the Minton leaf worked _really_ fast," she suggested.

"You can do better than that."

"All right," she said with a sigh. "My father's not sick. Part of my ninja training was to climb up on Da-Chou. I was supposed to bring my father the leaf as proof that I had succeeded."

Cloud shook his head. I should have know, he thought, I really should have known.

"So all that about him being on the verge of death was just a ploy to get us to help you cheat on a test?"

"Not cheat," she answered defensively. "He never said I had to get it all by myself."

"If that were true," Cloud countered, "then why didn't you just tell us the truth?"

Yuffie shrugged.

"Because it wouldn't have been as much fun?" she suggested innocently.

It was at this moment that Barret and Red came up beside them.

Cloud turned toward them.

"Yuffie has something to tell you all," he announced.

When Yuffie told them the truth Barret was livid with rage. He lunged at her as if he really were going to carry out his earlier threat to strangle her, but she dodged nimbly out of the way.

"I think you've lost a step or two," she taunted, dancing away from him. "Perhaps it's time you stared thinking seriously about retirement."

"Why you little wretch," he growled. "If I catch you I swear I'll make you regret every lie you ever told in your entire life."

"That's a big if," she shot back.

It was at this point that Tifa finally caught up with them.

"Enough!" Cloud commanded. "Now that your little charade is over we have important things to discuss. We came here because we need our materia.".

"Charade, what charade?" Tifa asked.

"My materia?" Yuffie questioned.

"_Our_ materia," Barret said firmly. "Remember, we only gave it to you because you needed it more than we did at the time. And you agreed that we could come and get it if we needed it in the future."

"What charade?" Tifa repeated.

"That particular conversation seems to have slipped my mind," Yuffie said innocently.

"Quit playing around..." Barret started, but Cloud held up his hand.

"Perhaps if we go back inside and discuss your recent adventure with your father it will help to refresh your memory," he stated.

"All right, I remember," she gave in. "It's in the basement. C'mon, I'll take you down there, and I promise, no tricks."

"There better not be any," Barret said menacingly, but Yuffie just gave him a smile in return.

"So, why do you need all this materia all of a sudden, anyway," she asked as she led them off. Cloud, Barret and Red followed close behind her, with Tifa in the rear, a puzzled look on her face.

"What charade?" she said again, to no one in particular.

* * *

The group rose early the next morning and gathered in front of Yuffie's house about two hours past dawn. Even this early there were still quite a few people in the streets.

"Well, are we all set to go?" Yuffie commented.

"What do you mean, we?" Barret growled, looking at her darkly. No one had made any mention of her joining the party before this. He would have noticed, because he had been listening for just such a suggestion with the express purpose of squashing it immediately.

"Of course I'm going with you," she exclaimed, as if shocked that anyone might have thought otherwise. "I have to keep an eye on my materia. Besides, you guys need me. Let's face it, none of you are getting any younger. If anything, your skills have gone down in the year since our last adventure. But I'm still young, and I'm only getting better. You won't make it halfway through the outskirts of Midgar without me."

"It's _our_ materia, you conceited little thief!" Barret snarled. "And it'll be a cold day in hell before we invite you along after all the trouble you put us through."

Yuffie looked at him with a pained expression.

"C'mon, I was just having a little fun," she said plaintively. "Can't you take a joke?"

"No," he replied forcibly.

"Well, what does everybody else think?" she asked, suddenly appealing to the others, since it was obvious she was getting nowhere with him.

"I don't care what everybody else thinks," Barret said sullenly.

"So who made you the boss?" she said pointedly.

He just growled at that. Then he said, "Well, my vote is no, and I won't change it unless everybody else is against me."

"That's not fair," she said.

"I don't care," he answered angrily. "It was bad enough I had to put up with you for this long."

"Barret, you really need to lighten up a little bit," she commented. Then she turned to the others. "Cloud?"

He didn't answer for a while, but just looked at her intently while she gave him the most innocent look she could muster. In spite of all the trouble she caused, she really was excellent in a fight and had helped them a great deal in their previous adventures. Finally he broke into a grin.

"Yuffie, I have to say that you are the biggest pain in the ass I have ever met. You stepped way over the line yesterday, but I have to admit it was pretty clever. It's all right with me if you come along."

Yuffie gave Barret an 'I told you so' look, but he just shook his head.

"Red?" she said sweetly.

"You have the exuberance and arrogance of youth, " he said unhesitantly. "I can think of no better teachers for you than the people here in front of you. It would be in your own best interests to join us."

Yuffie's eyes turned pleadingly to Tifa, who did not speak for a long time.

Barret suddenly seemed to realize what she was going to say.

"C'mon, Tifa," he blurted out. "Don't let me down now."

"You let me down pretty rudely yesterday," she snapped back. Although she was no longer limping, she still felt a little sore.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but it's all right with me," she said.

"Yes," Yuffie exclaimed gleefully. "I promise I won't let you all down."

"You better not," Barret said sharply. "Come along if you must, but stay out of my way. Now, if we're all done with the negotiating, what say we get this circus on the road?"

He turned and started down the street without waiting for a reply. Cloud looked at the others, shrugged and then followed. They fell in line behind, Yuffie last, as if to keep as much distance between herself and Barret as possible. Though there were quite a few people in the streets, everyone they noticed seemed concerned with their own business and didn't pay much attention to them. It would have come as quite a surprise to them to know that at least one set of eyes had been watching them carefully since they had stepped out of the house that morning.


	4. Midgar Again

CHAPTER IV

MIDGAR AGAIN

Tarkin sat unmoving in his chair. His training at SOLDIER had given him the discipline to ignore minor irritations and sit for hours while remaining utterly still, especially when he was thinking, and right now he had a lot to think about.

His spies had informed him the failed experiment was finally on the move. It had taken much longer than he had thought. Cloud was apparently stronger than he suspected, but he should have known. He realized he had underestimated the young warrior, and he would have to be careful not to do that again. Even a failed Shinra experiment still had power. After all, he had managed, obviously by some fluke, to have defeated the mighty Sephiroth.

He felt anger inside him at that. He considered it for a moment and decided it was proper. Sephiroth would have been pleased with his loyalty, and slowly the anger dissipated to be replaced by satisfaction of what was to come. He reached over and picked up the yellow materia orb from the pedestal beside his chair, the last gift given to him by the great Sephiroth.

He would have to monitor things carefully from now on. Very carefully indeed. He needed someone to get close and report to him of Cloud's every movement. He was pretty sure he knew just who could handle that job.

A smile slowly grew on his face He looked at the materia carefully, stroking it as if it were a small pet. As he did so his sleeve slipped partway down his arm, revealing an old tattoo. It was faded now from wear but still visible. It was the number 3.

"Very soon, my dear master," he said softly to himself, "you shall have your revenge."

* * *

Tifa did not feel good as they passed through the crumbling walls and into the streets of Midgar. She had had some good times here at her bar in the early days with Avalanche, but she would never forget the poverty of the slums or the horror she had felt at the destruction of Sector 7 and the death of her friends. On the whole she would rather never have had to see this place again, she decided. True, things had changed radically since then. Midgar was mostly ruins now. Meteor had done such fearsome damage that it was decided it would be easier to just abandon the city than to attempt to rebuild it. The streets were choked with rubble, and vegetation had overgrown most the buildings that still stood. The streets were deserted for the moment, but they were all on guard, for they knew that all sort of strange creatures now inhabited the city.

Still, nothing seemed anxious to bother the well armed group as it traveled down the center of the road in broad daylight. Tifa thought this would chance quickly if they wandered very far into any of the old buildings, or after night fell. She sincerely hoped that they would be done and far away before the sun sunk below the horizon.

Though many of the buildings had been utterly destroyed, there were still enough standing that they were in no danger of getting lost. Tifa kept her eyes open as they headed unerringly toward Shinra Headquarters. She saw movement once or twice in the rubble around them, but nothing challenged them.

A short time later they stood in front of their destination. The building was still standing, although the top floors had been torn off and now lay in a pile of rubble completely covering the street to the north. Perhaps the bottom twenty floors were still intact.

"It's a good thing the vault was down in the basement and not up on the top floors," Barret remarked, looking up.

They walked up the cracked concrete steps that marked the entrance. The doors of the main entrance lay twisted and broken on the ground in front of them. Carefully they stepped over them and into the building.

The lobby was dark after the bright sunlight. Cloud looked around, but he saw no sign that anyone, or anything, had passed through recently. Still, he had a feeling that danger was not far away. He slowly drew his sword and held it at the ready as he advanced through the lobby. He knew they had been watched on the way here, and he had no doubt that even now a trap was hastily being laid for them, a trap somewhere in an area where they would be most vulnerable. The dark corridors of Shinra Headquarters seemed to be the perfect place to him.

"So where do we go from here?" Yuffie asked tentatively.

"Not sure," Cloud replied. Though he had been a member of SOLDIER, he had rarely been at Shinra Headquarters. And in his few visits here with Avalanche he had had other things on his mind besides taking a tour.

"We'll just have to wander around and see what we can find," he continued. "Stay together, and be ready for anything."

"Just look for anything that leads down," Barret suggested, not very helpfully.

It took them a while, but eventually they found a narrow stairway leading down into darkness near the back of the building.

"Why do I get the feeling we are walking right into the lion's den?" Cloud asked before he started slowly down the steps.

The stairs led down into a large room full of machinery. The floor was covered with about an inch of water, and they could hear dripping off to the left. There was a door at he far end of the room.

They started in that direction but hadn't gotten very far when the heard some high pitched sounds off to the left. Cloud stopped them and turned that way. He saw something scurry between two pieces of machinery off in that direction. The others took up battle positions without saying a word.

The giant rats struck quickly from two different directions. As soon as he had a clear shot Cloud sprang forward and swung his sword in a murderous arc. Two of the rats instantly lost their lives. The others scattered around him and tried to get at his friends, but Cloud flicked his sword like lightening and took out another as they went by. The others were met with a flurry of blows from Tifa to his right and the razor sharp claws of Red to his left. In minutes all but two rats were laying unmoving on the floor, and those two were scurrying off into the darkness to lick their wounds.

Cloud turned to see Yuffie fling her shuriken unerring at the last rat that still remained on the other side of them. Barret turned around to look at him, and they realized that the battle was over.

"Nothing to it," Barret said confidently. "We didn't even have to use our materia."

"Not yet, anyway," Red commented. "Somehow, I think this may have just been a warm up."

"That's what I like about you, Red," Yuffie said. "You're always such an optimist."

"C'mon," was all Cloud said.

They walked on. They reached the door and opened it to see a narrow corridor that went on for as far as they could see in the dim light. Both walls of the corridor held numerous doors.

"If we have to search through all these rooms we could be here a very long time," Barret said with little enthusiasm.

Cloud silently agreed, but he didn't see much of an alternative. He was just about to say as much when they heard a commotion behind them. It sounded like it was coming from near the stairs they had come down. They heard the high pitched squeaks of the rats, and the unmistakable sounds of battle.

"Looks like we're not the only thing on the rats menu today," Yuffie said.

In spite of the fact that it was most likely none of their business and it would probably just cause more trouble, Cloud could not stop his curiosity from getting the better of him. He headed back toward the sounds of the fight.

"Umm, I think we're supposed to be going this way," he heard Yuffie protest, pointing down the corridor. He ignored her.

"Shut up, Yuffie," Tifa said as she walked past her after Cloud.

The others followed, Yuffie last.

Cloud swiftly went down the corridor until the sounds came from just around a large heavily damaged and unrecognizable machine. He quickly glanced around the corner of the machine then ducked back. He looked at Tifa.

"I don't believe it," he said.

Tifa slipped past him and looked around as well. There she saw none other than Cait Sith backed into a corner with three giant rats closing in on him.

* * *

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys" Cait exclaimed. They all came up and stood around him, ignoring the bodies of the three rats they had just dispatched.

"It was quite a surprise to see you," Cloud replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Actually I was looking for you," Cait replied.

"Huh?" Cloud questioned.

"I got a message from Wutai," Cait explained. "I assumed it was from your father, Yuffie. It said that you were headed for Midgar and needed my help. Here, I have it here somewhere."

He fished around for a moment and then pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Yuffie took it from him and gave it a hard look.

"This isn't my father's handwriting," she said after a moment.

"So who could have written it?" Tifa questioned.

"Could someone else have written it for your father?" Red suggested.

"I suppose," Yuffie replied.

"Well, who else knew where we were going?" Barret pointed out.

Cloud took the note and looked it over. It didn't say much, just that he and his friends were headed for Midgar and urgently needed Cait's help.

"When did you get this?" he asked.

"Two days ago," Cait replied. "I set off right away."

"Two days ago," Barret repeated. "The day after we left Wutai. If this wasn't from Godo, whoever sent it found out where we were going pretty quickly."

"Well," Cloud said thoughtfully, "we didn't make any secret about where we were going while we were in Wutai. Someone might easily have overheard us."

"But who, and why?" Tifa questioned. "And if it's not from a friend, then what purpose could there be in sending Cait to us?"

"I don't know, " Cloud replied, "but I don't like it."

"Cait, do you know where the vaults are where Shinra kept all their Ancient artifacts?" Red suddenly asked.

Cait turned to look at him.

"Sure," he said, "why do you ask?"

Cloud briefly explained the mission they were on.

"So maybe my father realized that we may need help finding the vault, and thought Cait could help us," Yuffie said after Cloud had finished. "Which would mean the message really is from him."

Cloud shrugged, somehow not satisfied with the explanation. If it was true that Cait knew where the vaults were then he would be very useful, and it would have made sense for a friend to summon him. Still, something just didn't seem right, but he couldn't think of any better explanation at the moment. One thing was for sure, they would have to be more careful about who they said things in front of.

"We could debate who sent you for as long as we want, " he said to Cait, "but it's just slowing us down. The fact of the matter is you are here and can help us. Why don't we get on with it before every monster in Midgar decides to pay us a visit."

They could all see the wisdom in that. They headed back through the room once more, this time with Cait walking in front with Cloud. In this way they worked their way slowly down four more levels. They were attacked three more times, twice by packs of rats and once by some large spider like creatures, but each time they beat them off easily. Still, Cloud had an uneasy feeling. It seemed to him that the attacks were somehow coordinated. As if an intelligence was feeling them out, sending lesser forces against them to test their strength, while all the time it was gathering it's strongest forces for an all out attack that would come... when? Well, he didn't really know, but he felt that it would be sometime soon. He tried to hurry them on, thinking if they reached their goal soon enough the enemy would have to be forced to attack sooner, before it was completely ready, or risk the chance of them slipping away.

They descended yet another set of steps. When the reached the bottom they gathered in a large vestibule whose only exit was a large steel door opposite the stairs.

"This is it," Cait said. "The vaults are behind this door."

"I hope it's open," Tifa said.

"Easy enough to find out," Cait replied. He walked up to the door and pulled on the handle. It did not budge. He let go and examined the door. There was no sign of a lock, just an electronic keycard mechanism.

"It's locked, and it opens with a keycard," Cait said, shaking his head.

"Not likely we're going to find one of them around," Barret observed.

"It wouldn't do us any good even if we did," Red stated. "The keycard mechanism runs on electricity, and there is no power."

They all stood looking at each other for a moment, but no one came up with any brilliant ideas.

"Well," Barret said finally, looking at the door dubiously. "Let's try it the hard way. Cloud, give me a hand, will you?"

Cloud walked up next to Barret as the others moved out of the way. The door looked much too solid for them to force, but he figured they had to give it a try.

Barret counted to three and they both flung themselves shoulder first into the door. They fell back, Barret grunting loudly, but the door didn't even shudder. Cloud knew right away that this would get them nothing but sore.

"Forget it, Barret, it's too heavy," he said. He suddenly produced an orb and held it up for Barret to see. It glowed a faint green.

"I guess we'll have to use this," he said, "though it will let every monster within a mile of us know that we are here."

"Yeah," Barret agreed, "but after they see that power they might think twice before taking us on."

"You may be right at that, " Cloud responded. "Get back, everyone."

Barret led the others back up into the stairwell. Cloud waited until he was sure they were a safe distance away. Then he turned toward the door. He held up the Ultima materia and concentrated on it. In seconds a green mist seemed to fill the air around him. He felt heat build up inside him. The green mist coalesced into a ball of green fire which rapidly expanded until it was almost blinding. Cloud took a single step forward and released. With a roar that rung in his ears the door was engulfed in the blast of raw power, which tore it asunder.

The echoes died away quickly, leaving an eerie silence. After a moment the others filed back into the vestibule.

Cait strode forward through the wreckage of the door. The others followed. Inside was another corridor which led in two directions.

"Which way do we go now?" Red asked.

"Not sure," Cait replied. "These are the vaults. The artifact you're looking for could be in any of these rooms. We'll just have to look through them all."

"Great," Barret said unhappily. "There must be a dozen rooms here. You told us you knew where to go."

"I told you I knew where the vault was" Cait replied testily. "This is it, but I don't have an inventory of it, if that's what you're asking. Perhaps there is one around somewhere if you care to look for it."

"We don't have time to argue," Cloud cut in. He felt more strongly than ever that they had to get out of here as fast as possible. "We'll have to split up into two groups. I don't really like the idea, but we can search a lot more quickly that way. Tifa and Cait, come with me. Barret, you take the others and look in the other direction."

Barret was going to protest about bringing Yuffie with him, but then thought better of it.

"All right," he said. "Just don't get yourselves lost."

"You either," Tifa replied as she followed Cloud. The corridor went perhaps ten feet and then made a left in front of them, but there were three doors before then, one on the left and two on the right. Cloud reached the first one on the right and grabbed the knob. He could see there was no lock, and these were simple wooden doors anyway and he knew they would have no trouble getting through them even if they were locked. But the door opened easily.

There was a large storage room inside. Boxes lined the walls and were piled up on shelves. They started methodically hunting though them.

"Most of these boxes are empty," Tifa said after a few minutes, holding one in her hand for Cloud to see.

"Most of these too," Cloud remarked sourly. "I hope someone didn't come through here earlier and beat us to it."

Tifa thought about that for a moment.

"But we just found out about it ourselves," she pointed out. "Who would have known?"

Cloud shrugged.

"I don't think they knew what to do with most of the stuff they had down here," Cait suggested "but they knew it could be valuable. Perhaps someone came down here right before Meteor struck and just grabbed whatever they could."

"That's possible," he answered. "Either way, all we can do is look."

It didn't take them long to finish with that room. They moved on to the next, and then the next. Red had explained that the crystal materia did not look like any other materia. It was not round but looked like a large multifaceted jewel. And instead of the soft colored glow that emanated from all other materia it was completely clear. But in each room they searched they saw nothing that looked anything like that.

Each empty room they left behind made Cloud more and more uneasy. He kept his ears open for any sounds in the corridors outside, and even though he heard nothing he could not help but feel that the enemy was closing in rapidly.

They searched though three more rooms with no luck. When Cloud went to open the next door he was surprised to find that it was locked.

He pointed it out to the others.

"Maybe that's a good sign," Tifa said "Perhaps there's something important inside."

Cloud took a step back and then lunged forward. His shoulder hit the door solidly and it flew open. They stepped inside.

This room was smaller than the others. It only held one shelf along the back wall. The only thing on the shelf was a metal box.

"At least this won't take long," Cloud said.

He reached over and lifted the box off the shelf. There was a key hole set in the front of the box, and Cloud thought it would be locked, but it opened easily.

He didn't say anything for a moment, then he looked at them and smiled.

"Jackpot."

"All right," Tifa said. "Let's get the others and get out of here."

They started for the door when Cait, who was closest to it, stopped and tensed. Even before he spoke the others heard the sounds in the corridor outside. Cait looked out the door and then turned toward them.

"We've got company," he stated.

* * *

"This is hopeless," Barret snarled, knocking some empty boxes across the room.

They had already searched through four rooms and found nothing.

"I don't think getting angry will help the situation," Red observed.

Barret just grumbled in response

They were almost done with this room. Barret walked out into the corridor, leaving the last corner of the room for the others. Just as he came out something off to his right caught his eye. He turned to see something vanish around the corner. He didn't see much, just a flash of blue.

"There's something out here," he called out.

The others came out and he explained what he had seen. Yuffie boldly walked down the corridor and looked around the corner, but the hallway was empty. At the end of the corridor stood another metal door, slightly ajar.

"It looks like whoever or whatever it was went in there," Yuffie said, pointing to the door. "Should we follow?"

Barret thought for a moment. There didn't seem to be much point in it. They were here to get the Crystal materia, not chase around after some Shinra monsters. Still, perhaps this would give them some clue. It would only take a moment to look, and he had to admit their search so far had been fruitless.

"Yeah, why not," he said finally.

As they walked toward the door they heard the sound of rushing water behind it. It echoed strangely in the corridor around them.

They reached the door and pulled it open. It seemed to lead into some kind of service tunnel. There was a channel down the center of the tunnel, and this was where the sound of the rushing water was coming from. A narrow concrete path ran down the tunnel on either side of the channel.

They stepped over and looked down. The water rushed swiftly through the narrow channel. The tunnel was not long, and the water passed through a grate at the northern end of it and disappeared into an narrow opening at the southern. The concrete path ended blindly at either end of the tunnel. There was a rusty ladder leading up into the darkness on the other side of the channel, but no way for them to get to it.

"Well, if anyone came in here they either flew out or swam out, and either way I don't think we can follow," Red said.

"I suppose," Barret replied. He looked at the water again. The rushing current would quickly sweep them away if they attempted to cross. Not that he had any desire to. It now appeared to him that whatever he had seen had not gone this way at all.

"All right, I guess we better..." he began.

Suddenly there was a loud thump as the door to the room was slammed shut!

"Hey!" Barret exclaimed.

They ran over to the door, but it did not budge when they tried to open it. Barret slammed up against it. The door shuddered slightly, but held.

"DAMN!

* * *

They were some type of zombie like creatures. Perhaps the residual Mako energy from Meteor had reanimated them. Some of them still wore tattered rags of what appeared to have once been Shinra uniforms. Whatever they were, there were half a dozen of them in the corridor, and Cait could see more coming around the corner.

He had just settled into his fighting stance when Cloud burst past him, sword flashing. Three of the zombies went down before they had a chance to react, and the others hesitated, surprised by the ferocity of the attack. But as more and more of them came around the corner their boldness grew, until once again they surged forward.

In moments the battle was joined in earnest. Tifa held back a little, using his materia to cast defensive spells around herself and her partners, only moving forward to attack when she was sure they were well protected. Cloud fought with no thought of defense, always advancing, always striking for the kill, and even though this tactic usually caused havoc among their enemies, it left Cloud dangerously exposed. It was usually up to Tifa or one of the other more methodical members of the party to protect him when he did.

Cait was more deliberate, only advancing when the enemy was off balance or at a disadvantage. His huge Mog body could take as well as dish out an enormous amount of punishment. Not many of the zombies could stand in front of him for long.

But in spite of their fighting skills they found themselves slowly being forced back. There seemed to be no end to their enemy, and for every one that fell two or three replaced them. It seemed that every creature in Midgar had been called to the attack.

"There are too many of them," Tifa shouted.

Cloud swung viciously and another zombie went down. He glanced around quickly.

"You're right," he called back. "Get back into the room. I'll slow them down a little."

Cloud held up a green materia orb as Tifa and Cait bolted for the room. They stepped to either side of the door once inside and stopped.

There was a flash of blinding green light from the corridor and a tremendous roar, and then Cloud burst into the room.

He slammed the door.

"That won't hold them for long," he said, panting. "And neither will this door. I wonder were the others are?"

* * *

Barret paced back and forth in front of the door, feeling like a caged tiger.

"Damn, " he said again.

"That's not going to help," Yuffie pointed out.

"I don't hear you coming up with any ideas," he snapped in return.

"At least I'm not using up all my energy pacing and cursing," she answered.

"And a fat lot of good all your energy is going to do you if we can't get out of here," he replied.

Red ignored their repartee and looked at the water. He had to agree that their original assessment was correct. It was running much too swiftly for them to get across before they were dragged away. As he studied the water he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow beneath the foam, and suddenly the water started to bubble even more fiercely near the center of the channel.

He stepped back.

"I think there's something..." he began.

The giant serpent burst up from beneath the foam with an ear splitting cry, showering them in a spray of foam. Even though Red had been prepared, he still was stunned momentarily. The creature reached back and swung a huge clawed hand at him. He recovered quickly enough to attempt to jump out of the way, but was not entirely successful. The hand struck him a glancing blow, yet it was still strong enough the toss him hard against the stone wall. He slumped to the ground.

"Shit," Barret exclaimed. He opened up with his gun, blasting away at the creature. He saw Red go down but didn't get much of a look before the creature swung at him. He dodged and then moved back to the wall to stay as far away from the creature's claws as possible. He saw Yuffie fling her shuriken and then run swiftly in the other direction.

The creature reared back and then let out another screaming cry. Then it struck again, this time swinging at Yuffie, who stood there unmoving for a moment, then desperately flung herself out of the way just in time.

Barret shook the cobwebs out of his head.

"It's using some kind of sonic attack, " he shouted over to Yuffie. "Try to stay away from it when it screams!"

"If you see a place to hide, let me know," she called in return.

He had to admit she had a point. The path on either side of the channel was narrow, barely six feet across. Well within the range of the huge serpents claws. There was no place to hide.

Barret let go another blast, backing away slowly. They didn't seem to be doing much damage. He had his share of materia, but what spell would be best to use? The creature seemed to be at home in the water, so fire would seem the appropriate choice. But he knew he didn't have the fire materia. Who did?

He looked at Red, who still lay stunned on the floor in the center of the tunnel. He pulled out a green materia.

"Yuffie," he called, "keep it occupied!"

She looked at him a moment, then threw her shuriken again and stepped right to the edge of the channel. The creature turned and lunged toward her. She dodged so desperately that she tumbled and nearly fell into the churning water. In an instant she was back on her feet scrambling away.

"Thanks a lot!" she called back to him.

Barret did not respond, for he was concentrating on the green materia in his hand.

Red felt a surge of energy when he was hit with the cure spell. He shook his head and got up, feeling his mind clear.

"Red, use fire!" he heard Barret call.

The creature screamed at them again. Barret covered his ears, but it didn't seem to help much. The serpent turned and slammed both claws down on Yuffie, and for a moment Barret was certain she'd been crushed, but then he saw her scrambling away again, apparently unhurt.

The creature screamed again, but this time in pain as it was hit by a huge ball of fire. Barret stepped forward and started to blast away with his gun again. There was a flash of light as Yuffie hit the creature with a lightning spell.

The creature reeled back as Yuffie and Red hit it repeatedly with their spells while Barret continued firing. With one final scream it twisted around and sunk down below the raging water.

"We toasted him," Yuffie yelled with glee.

Barret sat down for a moment to catch his breath. They had killed the beast but they were still trapped.

* * *

It only took a minute for the zombies to break through the door, but if they thought at all it was likely they regretted it. For when they opened it they were met by Cloud's flashing sword. The party was making it's stand just inside the entrance, which was narrow and easily defended. The zombies could only come at them two or three at a time, and for a long time they stood their ground. But there seemed to be no end to their enemy. Even after there was a pile of bodies in front of them that almost formed a solid wall, they still kept coming.

Slowly the party was forced back in spite of all their attempts to prevent it. Cloud continued to swing his sword viciously at any zombie foolish enough to come within reach, but both Tifa and Cait had long ago resorted to casting spells that caused as much damage to as many zombies as possible.

Tifa risked a glance behind her and saw that the back wall was just a few feet away. They could not retreat much further. She cast an ice spell and stepped backwards, almost stumbling with weariness They were all exhausted, and she knew she would not have the strength to continue for much longer. It seemed impossible that they could have attracted so much attention without Barret and the others hearing or seeing something. Or perhaps they were in the same situation somewhere else in the vaults. She was just beginning to feel desperate about their situation when the seemingly endless line of zombies suddenly petered out. Cloud swung his sword one more time and the final zombie fell. Then they all stood in silence, hardly believing that the battle was finally over.

"We did it," Cloud said weakly, leaning on his sword for support. Cait sat down while Tifa leaned against the wall. They were too tired to respond.

"Looks like we caught you at a bad time," said a strange yet familiar voice. They all looked up to see a man in a neat blue suit standing in the doorway. Behind him two other people stepped into view.

"Turks," Cloud said softly. "Great."

* * *

"So what do we do now?" Yuffie asked.

Barret sat with his back against the wall, while Yuffie, without realizing it, was now pacing back and forth. Red was wandering around staring at the tunnel around them.

"I'm thinking," Barret replied.

"In that case we could be here a very long time," she remarked.

Barret did not answer. He was too worried to be baited by her verbal sparring. Someone had deliberately locked them in here, and the only reason he could think of someone doing that was to get them out of the way. He felt that Cloud and the others were in desperate trouble.

"We have to get out of here," he muttered.

Red strode over to them.

"Perhaps we can," he said. "Look at those pipes."

Barret followed Red's gaze. In the corner near one end of the tunnel, almost hidden in the shadows, two narrow pipes ran up the wall. He looked up and saw that they ran into the ceiling above, but another pipe ran out of the wall not to far from them. This one ran across to the other side of the tunnel into the far wall right next to the ladder.

He looked at Red.

"Someone might be able to make that," he said slowly.

"But those pipes would never support your weight," Red pointed out.

"And you, of course, have already mentioned that climbing is not one of your talents," Barret returned.

They both turned to look at Yuffie, who had stopped pacing and was looking at the water now, unaware of their conversation.

"Oh Yuffie, " Barret called pleasantly. "We've got a little job that requires your ninja skills. It'll also give you a chance to get over your fear of heights."

* * *

"Did somebody take out an advertisement in the paper announcing we would be in Midgar today?" Tifa questioned.

Reno stepped into the room and looked them over, a sly look on his face. Rude and Elena followed.

"I wouldn't know about that," Reno said casually. "The truth of the matter is we have no quarrel with you. We were sent here to obtain a particular item. An item that seems likely now to be in your possession. If you would be kind enough to hand it over we can all avoid an unseemly altercation."

Cloud gave a short bark of laughter.

"I seem to recall that the last time we had an unseemly altercation the Turks came up at the short end of it," he said fiercely.

Elena stepped forward.

"I told you they wouldn't listen," she said sharply. "C'mon, let's just finish them."

Reno held up his hand.

"Control yourself, Elena," he answered calmly. "In their weakened condition it would hardly be a fair fight. Besides, they were kind enough to open up the vault for us and eliminate any other opposition. We own them a debt of gratitude. Give us the Crystal Materia and I give you my word as a Turk that you will not be harmed."

"And if you are hoping that your friends will show up to give you a hand," Elena added, "then you are in for a disappointment."

"What did you do to them!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Just led them astray with a simple ruse," Reno replied. "I assure you they were unharmed when we left them. Now, I'm afraid I can't wait any longer. Will you give us the materia?"

Cloud lifted up his sword and held it in front of himself.

"Not likely," he answered grimly.

"So be it," Reno stated, as if he had known all along.

The Turks attacked simultaneously. This fight was considerably different from their battle with the zombies, who had used brute force and large numbers to try to overpower them. The Turks attacked with a coordinated well thought out plan. They did not press the attack at close range, preferring to hold back and pummel Cloud and his friends with magic spells. Tifa realized the wisdom in this. In their exhausted state they would soon be too weak to use their own spells, and this was a safer course then a direct physical confrontation, where even in his weakened state Cloud was still capable of doing serious damage with his weapon.

Tifa saw Cloud fall backward as he was hit by a blast from Reno's electromag rod. She turned to cast a cure spell but nothing happened. She realized she no longer had the strength to use her materia. With a sinking felling she realized they could not win this battle.

As if they could feel Cloud and his friends weakening, the Turks pressed forward, increasing the power of their attacks. Suddenly Tifa felt burning pain as fire flashed around them. She stumbled backwards and fell. She looked over to see the other members of the party down as well. With sudden resolve they all slowly got up, and stood with their backs literally to the wall. If they were going to lose, they would sell themselves dearly, she thought.

The Turks started forward but were interrupted by a blast of gunfire. With a shout Yuffie and Red ran past Barret and threw themselves into the fray. The Turks were instantly demoralized by the sudden appearance of reinforcements, and immediately were put on the defensive. With renewed vigor Cloud, Tifa and Cait sprang forward to join their friends, but the Turks gave way, knowing that the battle was hopeless now. They turned and retreated into the corridor, and Cloud was too tired to pursue them. Reno stopped and turned toward them.

"Apparently our simple ruse was a little too simple," he said. "You've won this round, but you know this isn't the end of it. We'll see you again soon enough."

Cloud knew that was true, but he said nothing as they turned and disappeared down the corridor.

"You guys got here just in a nick of time," Tifa exclaimed.

"That's apparent," Yuffie said, seeing their obvious exhaustion.

Barret resisted the urge to snap at her. After all, she had climbed across those pipes in the tunnel and gotten out quickly enough to release them and get them here in time. In spite of her character, she did have her uses.

"Well, it's all over now," Cloud said. "We have the Crystal. I suggest we follow the Turks example and get out of here as fast as possible."


	5. Are All Politicians Cooked?

CHAPTER V

ARE ALL POLITICIANS CROOKED?

Cloud was surrounded by white light. He looked down to see the world far below his feet. He was suspended in the air far above the planet, but he felt no fear or discomfort.

He looked up and saw Aeris standing a few paces away. He reached out to her and tried to call out her name, but he heard no sound. Still, she seemed to understand, for she looked at him and smiled. Then she looked down.

He followed her gaze and saw a large island below them. He recognized it as one of the southern islands, the one that had held the Temple of the Ancients, in fact, for he could just barely make out the small clearing where it had once stood.

He looked back up at her. She looked at him expectantly, her face showing no emotion except for her calm smile. It seemed she was trying to tell him something, but he had no clue what. He tried to ask, but again no sound came out. Then she looked down again and pointed.

He looked down one more time. And then suddenly he was falling. He looked up to see her disappearing rapidly into the distance, the calm smile still on her face. He looked down and saw that he was dropping not onto the island but towards the water off it's southern shore.

He felt no impact as he hit the water, but suddenly he was below it, sinking rapidly into the depths. He sank for a long time, but he still felt no discomfort or need for breath. The sea was filled with life, but none of it paid any attention to him. He looked down and saw that the bottom was now in view, and then he saw a cave on a small rise in front of him, a faint green glow emanated from it.

He drifted down to the bottom right in front of it, and then slowly felt himself being drawn in. The glow grew brighter and sparkled in a familiar way, and suddenly he realized it was the glow of the lifestream. It filled the air all around him as he slowly drifted into the cave.

He felt the tug of the current become stronger. The cave seemed to be filled with shadows that moved around him like living things. He had felt nothing but peaceful contentment up to this point, but suddenly he felt uneasy. The current grew stronger still, and for the first time he tried to resist. He made an attempt to swim back the way he had come, but it had no effect. He felt the current grow stronger still and now he was being pulled swiftly through the tunnel. Suddenly he saw the lifestream fade away into darkness and a black vortex opened up in front of him. He desperately tried to halt his progress, for he knew that if he was sucked into the dark abyss he would never return. His efforts were useless, and even as he felt himself being swept helplessly to his doom, he heard a familiar laughter ringing in his ears.

* * *

Cloud woke up with a start. He thought he had cried out, although he could not be certain. He sat up in the bed, looking around the room for a minute, confused. In a moment he remembered he and the others had headed back to Kalm after their little excursion to Midgar, and he was now sitting up in a bed in the backroom of Tifa's bar.

The sun was shining brightly through the window, and he wondered how late it was. He got up and a short time later strolled into the bar proper. The others were gathered around one of the tables in the center of the room.

Tifa came over to him as soon as she saw him.

"We knew how exhausted you were from the battle and didn't want to disturb you," she said. "Sleep well?"

He looked at her for a moment. It was obvious that she knew more about his dreams than he had thought, and he wondered now if she was somehow aware of his most recent one, but he could read nothing in her face.

"Well enough," he replied.

"Good," she said. "We've been waiting for you to get up so we can decide on the next step."

They walked over and the others greeted him. He and Tifa both sat down.

"Well, we've got the Crystal Materia," he said. "So I guess you're all wondering where do we go from here. Red?"

"I'm afraid we don't have much to go on," Red replied. "I've been working on translating the book but it is difficult work. From what I have deciphered so far the Crystal Materia can only be used successfully in certain locations on the planet."

"And where might that be?" Barret questioned.

"There are several places mentioned," he replied, "but I have never heard of any of them, nor can I find any reference to them in any other book. I think this is because that they are not actually on the planet."

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked, puzzled.

"I don't think the locations mentioned are geographical locations on the surface of the planet, rather they appear to be locations within the lifestream."

"What exactly does that mean?" Tifa asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain," Red answered. "There are certain places within the lifestream that are places of power. They are not tied to one geographical location on the planet, but rather represent crossroads in the flow of the lifestream."

"So if they're not always in the same place, then how are we supposed to find them?" Cait asked quite reasonably.

"I said that they are not tied to one place," Red replied. "But that doesn't mean they move. It just means they _could_ move. If I understand correctly, some do not move at all, or move only after thousands of years. If we found a reference to the location of even one on the planet, chances are it would still be there."

"But we don't know where one is," Cait pointed out.

"No," Red answered.

"It doesn't sound like we have much at all," Barret commented. "We don't even know how to get into the lifestream itself, much less find a major intersection."

"We were in the lifestream once before," Tifa pointed out, looking at Cloud.

He said nothing, but just sat there, apparently deep in thought.

"That's right, at Mideel," Barret spoke up.

"Perhaps that would be a logical starting place for us then," Red suggested.

"No," Cloud said suddenly.

They all looked at him.

"No?" Tifa said.

"No," he repeated. "We have to go to Junon."

"Junon?" Cait and Yuffie said at once.

They waited for him to explain.

"Cloud?" Tifa prompted, a look of puzzlement and concern mixed on her face.

He hesitated a moment more, then told them about the vision he had had that morning.

"So what are you trying to tell us," Cait asked when he had finished. "That the dream was real?"

"It wasn't a dream," Cloud said sharply. "It was more than that. It was so vivid, so real. I've never had dreams like this before. I can't explain how I know, but I just know. Aeris showed me the entrance to the lifestream. It's not in Mideel, it's in an underwater cave off the coast. If we go to Mideel we'll just be wasting our time."

Some of the others looked skeptical, but none of them doubted Cloud's sincerity. Whether it was true or not, it was certain that Cloud believed what he had seen was the truth. Tifa just sat silently beside him, staring off into space.

"So, even if you are right," Barret commented slowly. "Why do you want to go to Junon?"

"In my vision," Cloud replied, "I could travel underwater with no ill effects, but I doubt if that will occur in reality. We left the submarine at Junon."

* * *

"Red."

Red turned as Tifa walked up beside him. The were alone in the bar now, the others preparing for the trip to Junon.

"Do you think Cloud's visions are real?" she asked.

"I don't know," Red replied with a shrug. "As I said before, most of what we once knew about the Ancients is lost. It is clear, however, that Cloud believes they are real."

Tifa did not respond. She sat down at the table and stared out the window.

"What's troubling you?" Red asked.

She sighed.

"I think he blames himself for her death," she said finally.

Red wasn't surprised.

"That's nonsense," he replied.

Tifa shrugged.

"I think he believes he could have stopped it, _should_ have stopped it," she continued. "I think he feels guilty that he didn't. I think..."

She stopped. He waited patiently for her to continue.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly. "I'm ranting. Sometimes I think he's losing his mind. Other times, I think I am."

Red looked at her with a sympathetic eye.

"You think he's having these visions because he blames himself for her death," he said slowly.

She looked at him for a moment, then looked down at the floor.

"I guess so," she said softly. "I've really tried to believe that she is trying to contact him, but I can't. She's dead, Red. Much as it hurts to say so, but that is what I really believe in my heart. Does that make me a terrible person?"

"Not at all," he answered immediately. "To tell you the truth, I had a suspicion you might feel that way. You were the only one who did not hesitate when Aeris vision appeared in the Gi cave."

"So what do I do Red?" she asked, turning to look at him once more. "What do I do?"

He smiled.

"I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of advice," he replied. "I would say that you should just keep on doing what you have been. I have a feeling that in the end it will all work out for you. In the meantime, the only thing I can tell you is to take your own advice."

She looked at him, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"There was a time in our last adventure when all of the people with Hojo's tattoos seemed to be going mad. I was afraid that it would happen to me too. Do you remember what you told me then?"

She paused for a moment in thought. Then she smiled.

"I told you to be strong," she said finally.

He placed a reassuring paw on her shoulder.

"Be strong, Tifa, be strong."

* * *

They reached the dockyard on the outskirts of Junon early the next morning. None of them had been back here since their last adventure. After all, it's not everyday you need the use of a submarine. Things didn't look much different at first, but as they neared the docks they were surprised to find that it was surrounded by a fence. In front of them at the end of the road was a large gate with two guards on either side.

"That's new," Barret commented.

They walked up to the gate. A guard came forward and held up his hand for them to halt.

"Do you have business here?" he questioned.

"We need to get into the dockyard," Cloud replied.

The guard nodded.

"Certainly, if you'll just show me your clearance."

The look they gave him made it obvious that they were lacking in that regard. The guard looked at them sternly and shook his head.

"You can't pass without clearance."

"Clearance from who?" Barret growled.

"Why, Mayor Hart, of course," the guard replied. "We've had a lot of cases of unauthorized use of government property. Mayor Hart is cracking down. You can't go onto the docks without his permission."

"Hart?" Cait said. "What happened to the old Mayor?"

"He retired about six months ago," the guard replied. "Hart is the Mayor now. He's started a lot of innovative programs."

"I'll bet," Barret replied. "Look, we just need to use the submarine. We're not here to mess with anything else. We're from Avalanche, and I'm sure your Mayor won't mind."

"You guys are from Avalanche?" the guard said, his eyes widening. "I heard it was you who beat Sephiroth. I didn't think anyone would be able to do that."

"Great," Cloud replied. "Now can we pass?"

The guard hesitated and looked at them, embarrassed.

"I'm afraid I really can't let you through without permission," he said hesitantly.

"Oh good grief," Barret exclaimed, obviously starting to lose his temper. "This is ridiculous. We're not thieves, and we need the sub. Now let us through."

The guard stepped back as the second guard came over slowly. They both realized that they would be no match for this group if it came to a fight.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I'm just doing my job. I'm sure if you go see the Mayor you will have no problem getting clearance. But I can't let you through without it."

Barret just stared at them with his hands on his hips.

"It's all right," Tifa said, walking over to Barret. "We can go talk to the Mayor. C'mon, Barret. It's not their fault."

For a moment longer Barret glared at the guards, then he turned and looked at Cloud.

"Tifa's right," Cloud said finally. "C'mon, let's go pay the Mayor a visit.

They walked back down the road and turned north. In a few minutes they were in Junon proper. The city itself didn't seem to have changed much since their last visit. The cannon was gone, of course, decaying now in the ruins of Midgar, but otherwise the city appeared virtually unchanged. It turned out the Mayor had his office in the old Shinra headquarters, and Tifa shuddered for a moment as they walked by the room that held the gas chamber where she had almost perished. This was another place that she had hoped to never see again.

They reached the Mayor's office and entered. The waiting room was empty, except for a secretary at a desk in the front of the room. She looked at them as they walked up to her.

"Can I help you?"

"We need to see the Mayor," Cloud said.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked.

"No," Cloud replied. "We need to use the submarine and we were told we had to get clearance from the Mayor first."

"I'll go see if he's available," she said, and got up.

"Tell him we're from Avalanche," Barret added.

She raised her eyebrows at this, but said nothing. She walked into the next room.

"Let's hope this doesn't take long," Barret muttered.

She came out again in a moment.

"The Mayor will see you shortly, please have a seat."

Barret grumbled, but then they all sat down and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Barret fidgeted and grumbled the entire time. He kept giving the secretary glaring looks, but she did her best to ignore them. Finally even the others started to get impatient

"How much longer is this going to take?" Cloud asked.

"The Mayor is a very busy man," the secretary responded.

"Busy?" Barret exclaimed, "there's not even anyone else here!"

The secretary gave him an exasperated look.

"Considering the fact that you don't have an appointment, you're lucky that he agreed to see you at all," she answered.

"Yeah, real lucky,' Yuffie chimed in.

"Did you tell him that we were from Avalanche," Barret asked. "Remember, the people who stopped Meteor and _saved the planet?_"

"Yes, I told him," she answered with a sigh.

They sat back down and waited a little while longer. But then Cloud looked at Barret and without saying a word they suddenly all got up and walked toward the door to the Mayor's chambers.

The secretary stood up in surprise.

"You can't go in there!" she cried.

"Not likely you're going to stop us, sister," Yuffie exclaimed and took a menacing step toward her. The secretary stepped back.

"The Mayor isn't going to like this," she said lamely as they filed by.

"You can say that again," Barret growled.

The Mayors office was a large well furnished room. There was a huge desk at the far end of it. Behind the desk sat the Mayor with a young woman in his lap. He looked up startled as they came in, then stood up abruptly, almost dumping the woman on the floor. She righted herself a gave him a dirty look.

"I thought I told April that I was not to be disturbed, " he said, somewhat flustered.

"I'm afraid we took the liberty of coming in on our own," Cloud replied. "And since we're here now and it doesn't look like you're all that busy after all, perhaps you could find the time to have a little discussion with Avalanche."

The Mayor looked like he would get angry for a moment, but then, seeing the look on the faces of the six well armed people in front of him, appeared to change his mind.

"Of course," he replied with a smile. "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

He turned toward the woman. "I'll continue my dictation later on, Selene. You can go."

With a smile at the others, she turned and walked out of the room.

"So what can I do for you, my friends?" the Mayor asked.

Cloud explained the situation.

"Oh, so you need to use the submarine," Hart said when he had finished. "I see. Well, this is a very serious request. I'm afraid I just can't give you use of the submarine on a spur of the moment. We're conducting some very important research right now, and I don't know whether it can be interrupted."

"What sort of research is that, exactly?" Red questioned.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't say. It's all hush, hush, and all that. You know."

"No we don't know," Barret said sharply. "We're not going to need it for long. Besides, we were the ones who acquired the ship from Shinra, so it's basically our submarine."

"Well, " Hart responded, searching for a moment for a response. "As private citizens, you can't really own the submarine. It was property of Shinra, and once that company was dissolved it reverted to the state."

"But I'm not a private citizen, " Barret responded with a sudden smile. "I'm the Mayor of Corel And as such I believe I have the right to claim the submarine as property of that city."

Hart looked at him for a moment.

"But you were not Mayor when you acquired the ship. I don't think your claim would hold up."

"Look," Cloud interrupted. He really was not interested in discussing the finer points of any legal battle they might have over the submarine. "Are you going to let us use it or not?"

The Mayor looked around his office for a moment, as if trying to think of the proper way to respond.

"All right, I may be able to swing it," he said finally. "But you have to do something for me in return."

Barret looked at him skeptically.

"And what might that be?"

"I need you to get something for me," he said.

They did not respond, but waited for him to say more.

"I need you to get me the plans for the Mako reactor underneath Junon." he continued.

"Whatever for?" Tifa exclaimed. "Surely you're not thinking of building another Mako reactor?"

"No, not at all," Hart replied quickly. "It's just that some of my engineers believe that they can use the plans to build a conventional reactor that's more efficient."

Cloud looked at the others. They seemed as doubtful as he about this new development. Tifa in particular did not look like she liked this idea one bit. He turned back to the Mayor.

"Assuming we agree," he said, "just where are these plans?"

"Why, in the reactor, of course," Hart replied.

"Somehow I knew you were going to say that," Cloud said softly.

* * *

Mako created monsters had continued to haunt the city of Junon even after the fall of Shinra. Some brave people had entered the reactor itself to try to clean out this scourge, but none had ever returned. In the end it had been decided it would be better to simply seal off the reactor and let the monsters rot inside. Now Cloud and his friends found themselves standing in the underwater passageway just outside the huge steel doors that the Mayor's assistants were in the process of unbolting.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tifa asked, not for the first time.

"No, I'm not," Cloud replied. "But it doesn't look like we have much choice. It's either this or take the submarine by force and probably have the entire city of Junon after us."

"For all we know," Yuffie said, "the city might be glad to get rid of this guy. I'm beginning to wonder how he ever got elected in the first place."

"And besides," Cait added, "how do we know he's telling the truth when he says he only wants the plans to build an improved conventional reactor? I don't trust him."

"After all that's happened," Tifa said, "the people would never let him build another Mako reactor. They'd kick him right out of office. That kind of greed almost destroyed the planet once already."

"Most people thought Shinra should have been kicked out long before it was," Barret observed, "but it took a long time for it to happen."

"I don't trust him either," Cloud said. "And I'm open to any suggestions, if anyone has got one. I think we have little choice but to take his word for it, and if we find out later on that he's lying, well, the citizens of Junon won't be the only people he has to deal with. I'm sure that you haven't forgotten that we have some experience at taking out Mako reactors."

No one had forgotten.

The assistants completed unbolting the doors and now nervously opened them just far enough for someone to pass through. They looked at Cloud and his friends anxiously,

"All right, let's get this over with," Cloud said. He walked over and slipped through the doors. The others followed. As soon as they were all inside the doors was slammed ominously behind them.

"I got a feeling they're not expecting us back," Cait commented.

They looked around. They were in a large passageway. Machinery lined the walls and a catwalk ran along the wall to their right. Except for themselves, it seemed deserted.

"Well, I don't see any sign of Mako monsters," Barret observed. "This place has been sealed up for almost a year, maybe they all turned on each other."

"Maybe, " Cloud replied, the doubt in his voice obvious.

"So where do we go from here?" Tifa asked.

Hart had told him where the plans could be found, if of course they hadn't been moved. Cloud thought that unlikely. The plans weren't something that would be of interest to anyone, or anything, for that matter.

"This way," he said, and started walking to the left.

There was a corridor off in that direction and Cloud led them down it. This led into another room filled with machinery. Tifa kept her eyes open as they walked, but she saw no hint that the place was occupied. Nor did she sense that they were being watched or followed. She felt that they were completely alone down here.

Cloud led them down two more levels, and still they met no opposition. Tifa was beginning to believe that maybe Barret was right, and the only thing they had to worry about was getting lost. They had made a dozen turns already, and without the others she would have no clue where she was going, but Cloud seemed to know the way and he led them unhesitantly.

They entered the largest room they had seen yet. They stood on a metal grating about six feet wide that ran along the wall on this side of the room. Below them the rest of the room was filled with a clear green liquid. A metal stairway led up to a catwalk that ran above the pool across the room and into another corridor twenty feet above the pool on the opposite wall.

"Must be coolant for the reactor," Red observed, looking at the liquid.

Cloud nodded and led them single file up the stairway and onto the catwalk. They had still seen no sign of an enemy, and he had unconsciously begun to relax a little. Even if he had been alert, he was looking for some enemy, and not at the structure on which they walked. The reactor had had no maintenance done on it in almost a year, and if anyone had looked closely they might have been concerned by the rust covering the metal struts supporting the catwalk.

But no one did notice, and the first hint they had was the grating sound of metal on metal and a sudden shudder as one of the supports gave way.

"Get back!" Cloud shouted in the instant he had before the section they were standing on collapsed.

The catwalk gave way at one end and swung down like a trapdoor opening. Yuffie, who was last in line, scrambled back madly and managed to make it to an undamaged section. Red, who was next, made a tremendous leap as the walk gave way and landed halfway on the undamaged part. For a moment he balanced there, his paws flailing wildly to gain a grip, then Yuffie grabbed hold of him and hauled him up.

The others were too far along to jump back. Cloud grabbed Tifa's arm with one hand, then lunged and managed to grasp the swinging handrail. Barret and Cait slid down, desperately reaching for the railing as they fell. Barret managed to grab it and hold on at the last moment. He hung there slowly swinging back and forth above the coolant. Cait scrambled to get a handhold as well, but couldn't quite manage it. He fell into the coolant below with a loud splash.

He came up gasping.

"Is this stuff poisonous?" he yelled anxiously.

"I don't think so," Red replied. "Just swim back to the platform and you'll be fine."

Cait paddled back toward the metal grating. Cloud hauled himself up the handrail, thinking at any moment the rest of the catwalk would give way and they would all end up in the drink. But he climbed up without incident, then turned and helped Tifa and Barret.

They stood up and looked back at Yuffie and Red. A good fifteen feet now separated them.

"So what do we do now?" Yuffie asked.

Cloud shrugged.

"I guess we'll go on," he answered. "I don't see how you can get across, so wait here until we get back."

She held out her arms and gave him a look of exasperation.

"So I'm just supposed to wait here with the furballs?" she said.

Cloud just shook his head.

"Let's get going, " he said to Tifa and Barret.

They move forward cautiously, but they reached the end of the catwalk without further incident. They disappeared into the corridor beyond.

Yuffie and Red walked back down to the platform and helped Cait climb out of the coolant. He shook his huge Mog body, and Yuffie cried in protest as he showered them with water.

"Cut it out," she exclaimed. "If you weren't such a big lug the catwalk probably wouldn't have fallen in the first place."

"Hey, don't try to blame it on me," Cait answered defensively. "This body is big but it's very light. I bet it doesn't weigh much more than you do."

Yuffie said nothing but looked at him skeptically. Then she turned and walked back toward the doorway.

"Cloud told us to wait here," Red said.

"Well, I'm not going to just stand around here waiting for them," she replied. "Suppose they get in trouble and need our help? I'm going to see if there is another way through."

"You're more likely to just get yourself hopelessly lost," Red said.

"You're welcome to come if you want," she said sharply. "But I'm going, regardless."

Red and Cait looked at each other, then turned and started after her.

"I've got a feeling we're going to regret this," Red said resignedly.

* * *

Cloud led them through two more rooms and down a flight of steps which led into yet another large room. He stopped for a moment to get his bearings. Then he pointed to the right.

"The reactor core is right in there," he said. "The plans are in an office above them. C'mon, we're almost there."

They took a few steps but then stopped. A sound came from their left. A rapping sound, as if someone was banging on metal. It was not loud, and seemed to be coming from a corridor that led off to their left. It went on for a minute and paused, then started up again.

Barret looked at Cloud.

"Should we go check it out?" he asked softly.

Cloud stood listening for a few more minutes. The sound faded away, and this time did not return.

He shook his head.

"I think in this case we'd be better off leaving well enough alone," he said. "Let's just get the plans and get out of here."

He led them to the right and into the next room. The opposite wall in the room was a convex semicircle. A large metal door stood on the wall with the words 'CAUTION: REACTOR CORE' in red above it. A metal stairway led up to another catwalk that ran along the wall above them. The upper portion of the wall was covered with windows of offices that lined the area above them. The glass in all the windows was smashed and scattered across the floor. The metal stair was bent and twisted, although it still looked serviceable. The dozens of machines that stood in the room were broken and in some cases torn to pieces. The door below the sign was dented and appeared to have large claw marks across it. The entire room was filled with debris. They looked at it for a few moments in shocked silence.

"Whatever it was that came through here was real angry," Barret finally stated.

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, looking around carefully. "But it doesn't seem to be around anymore. Let's get those plans and get out of here before it decides to come back."

They made their way carefully up the stairs. Cloud was worried now that the plans would not be there. If whatever had come through had destroyed the offices the plans might be nothing more than twisted fragments of paper scattered on the floor. But when they got to the top of the catwalk he saw that the offices were relatively undamaged.

They walked over to the third office and entered. Cloud quickly went over to the desk and started to rummage through it as the others kept an eye out for any visitors. With a grunt of satisfaction Cloud stood up, the plans in his hands. They quickly strode back along the catwalk and down the stair. He was sure that something would happen before they got out of the room, but they made it without incident. Cloud wasn't about to say so out loud, and they still had a long way to go, but in spite of that he was thinking that maybe for just this once their little mission would go off without a hitch.

* * *

Red was trying his hardest to keep track of the way back, but it was difficult. There seemed to be no pattern to Yuffie's meandering. She appeared to turn right or left as the mood took her. They reached another intersection and Yuffie turned left.

"I think we're going in the wrong direction," Red said.

Yuffie did not respond, but just kept walking.

"Maybe we should just let her go on by herself," Cait suggested.

"No," Red replied. "We better stay with her. I just wish she wasn't so stubborn."

They entered another room that appeared to have no other exit. Red and Cait waited by the door while Yuffie wandered around. Maybe now they would turn around, Red thought, but his thinking was premature.

Yuffie was at the far end of the room looking at a large piece of machinery.

"It's looks like there's a door behind here," she said. "Give me a hand with this."

Red walked over, followed by Cait. He could see the partial outline of a door behind the machine. Red looked around. There was a trail of scrape marks on the floor leading from the wall on their left over to the machine.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Yuffie questioned impatiently. "Help me move this."

"Can't we just go back," Cait finally asked. "This seems like an awful lot of work just to get lost."

"Nobody is stopping you from going back," Yuffie replied sharply. "But you sure aren't going to help the others that way."

"It looks like somebody dragged this machine over here from the far wall," Red observed. "Why would they do that?"

"How should I know," Yuffie replied. "And I don't really care. Now, are you going to give me a hand or not?"

The three of them together moved the machinery with little difficulty, even though Red had a feeling that this was an extremely bad idea. He could only think that the machinery had been put there so that no one could get in or out of the door behind it.

Once the machinery was out of the way they saw a solid barred metal door. Yuffie walked up and lifted off the bar.

"I really don't think we should go in there," Red tried again, even though he knew it was hopeless.

It was.

Yuffie opened the door and walked in. The others waited a moment and followed. There was a large room inside. Yuffie stood a few steps in. She turned around and looked at them.

"See," she said, "there's nothing to be afraid of. Now C'mon, you scardycats, lets go find the..."

She stopped as she saw the look on their faces. Their eyes were wide, and they were looking up. She turned and saw...

Knees?

She looked up.

Then she looked up higher.

"Oh boy," she said softly.

* * *

Cloud led them back as fast as he dared. With each step he expected something to leap out of the shadows at them, but they made it back to the coolant room undisturbed.

"Looks like the place might be deserted after all," Barret finally said.

"We're not out of here yet," Tifa said quickly, even though she had been thinking the same thing.

They walked along the catwalk above the pool until they reached the point where it had collapsed.

"Where are the others?" Tifa asked with some concern.

"I don't know," Cloud replied. He had expected them to be waiting here. "I hope they haven't gotten themselves in some kind of trouble."

No one spoke for a moment as they look across at the other end of the catwalk. They all knew the only way across was into the pool.

"Well, we won't find out by standing here," Barret said finally and launched himself off the catwalk. He hit the water with a tremendous splash and headed for the platform.

Cloud looked at Tifa, who was looking down at the water. It was a good fifteen foot drop.

"Barret's right," he said. He grabbed hold of her.

"No, wait, I'm..." she began, but then they were plunging downward. They hit the water and it was cold! She came up sputtering.

"I wasn't ready!" she cried, but he was already swimming for the platform. She followed and Cloud and Barret hauled her up.

"Now where the hell did they go?" Cloud muttered, walking out into the hall. He looked both ways as the others came out behind him. He was just about to complain about the fact that they hadn't stayed put when they heard sounds down the hallway to the left.

Cloud felt relief when he saw Yuffie come around the corner, with Red and Cait not far behind.

"Good, you're back, " Yuffie said, rushing right past them. "C'mon, lets get out of here. We don't have all day, you know."

They looked at her for a moment, then turned as Red and Cait came up.

"You have the plans?" Red questioned.

"Yes," Cloud responded. "What's going on?"

A deep growl echoed down the hallway from the direction they had just come.

"I'm afraid something followed us home," Red said.

Cloud had his sword out in an instant. A moment later he saw a huge clawed hand at the end of the hallway. It was attached to a gorilla like beast that growled again as soon as it saw them.

Cloud took a step forward.

"It's big, but it doesn't seem to be very fast," Red suggested from behind him. "Perhaps it might be wise to retreat."

Cloud did not respond but stopped his advance.

"Red's right, Cloud," Tifa said. "We've got the plans, let's just get out of here."

He glanced at them, then turned to look at the beast. It was still a good twenty feet away. He took a step backwards, then turned and they ran down the hall after the others.

* * *

"Yuffie, the next time we need directions somewhere, remind me not to ask you, " Barret said with a smile.

"Very funny," she answered sharply. "I'm sure if it had been you leading the group we'd still be lost down there."

"You may be right," Barret answered, refusing to be baited. "But I gotta take my hat off to you. I don't think anyone else could have led us straight to what was probably the only monster left alive down in that maze."

Yuffie gave him a dark look, but said nothing more.

"Well, no harm done," Cloud said philosophically. "I just hope that the next time I tell you to wait you'll do just that."

"Yes sir, General Cloud," Yuffie muttered with a quick salute.

They had been walking down the road to the dockyards, and now they stopped as they once more stood in front of the gates. A guard came over to them, different from the last one. They showed him their clearance from the Mayor and the guards swung open the gates.

"That's more like it," Barret said with satisfaction.

They walked out onto the docks. The sub was tied up at the second dock. The area was completely deserted.

"Cloud, do you think you still remember how to run this thing?" Cait asked as they walked aboard.

"We'll find out soon enough," he replied. He pulled on the main hatch and it opened with a grating sound.

"Doesn't sound good," Barret remarked. "You know, it looks like this thing hasn't been used since the last time we used it. Must of been some interesting research they were conducting."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Cloud muttered.

They entered the sub and Cloud had to agree with Barret's assessment. The place looked completely unused. There were even cobwebs covering some of the instrument panels. A minor nuisance, but a short time later he discovered a real problem. The engines wouldn't start.

He related that information to the others, and then he and Red went back to the engine room to take a look around.

Barret sat down unhappily in the helmsman's seat.

"I'll bet that lousy excuse for a Mayor knew the sub wasn't working all the time," he said angrily. "I think we should go back there and kick his ass."

"Satisfying as that may be," Tifa replied, "it's not going to get us a working submarine. But let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe it's something simple and Cloud and Red can fix it."

"Even if they can," Barret answered, "I'd still like to kick his ass."

It was quite a while before Cloud and Red returned, and when they did they did not have good news.

"I'm afraid it's beyond our expertise to fix it," Red said. "We just don't know that much about submarine engines."

"So what do we do now?" Yuffie asked. It seemed they had come an awful long way to get stuck.

"We need someone to help us," Red replied. "Someone who knows about engines."

They all looked at each other for a moment.

"Cid," Cloud, Barret and Yuffie all said at once


	6. Those Annoying Bats

CHAPTER VI

THOSE ANNOYING BATS

They reached Rocket Town the next day. Like Wutai, it had grown, but not nearly as much. As they walked down the street they saw perhaps a dozen new houses. As they passed between two of them Cait stopped and pointed to the north.

"Hey, look at that."

They saw the top of a rocket poking out of the treetops.

"He must be building a new one," Tifa said. "Let's go take a look."

They turned and hurried north. As they came out of the trees they saw the new rocket in front of them. It looked quite similar to the old one, but was obviously still under construction and a long way from completion. There were still gaping holes in the hull, and they could see a dozen technicians working on the interior.

The launch pad was covered with pipes, electrical lines and construction equipment. They worked their way trough the maze until they saw Cid talking to two other men at the base of the rocket.

"Cid!" Cloud called.

He turned and waved. They walked over to him.

"So, how do you like it?" he said as the approached, waving his hand at the ship. "It's going to be a beauty! Twice as powerful as the old one. If all goes well we should be done with her sometime next year. You guys up for another trip into space?"

"I'm not sure we're quite ready for that," Cloud replied. "Looks like you've been working hard. I guess one trip into space wasn't enough for you."

"Ha!" Cid spate out. "That was nothing. That just gave me a taste and now I'm anxious for more. Who knows, with this baby, we might even be able to reach another planet!"

"Where did you get the funding?" Red asked.

"Well, we're still a little tight there," Cid admitted. "But I got a lot of investors once they saw that the first rocket actually worked. Plus, we're cutting expenses as much as possible. I've even used a lot of parts from the Highwind."

"You took apart the Highwind?" Barret said in surprise.

"Yeah, we needed the parts. Anyway, who needs an airship when you can have a spaceship. Besides, I've still got the Tiny Bronco."

"But the Tiny Bronco can't fly," Cait said.

"It can now," Cid replied.

"Sounds like you've been keeping busy," Red observed.

"Things couldn't be better, actually," Cid said. "So what have you guys been up to. I hardly expected to see you all back here together. Are we having some sort of reunion?"

"Kind of," Cloud replied. He explained the situation.

Cid nodded when Cloud had finished.

"I see. Well, it s kind of busy here but I'm sure I can find the time to give you a hand. It shouldn't take too long. How about if we leave tomorrow morning?"

"That would be fine," Cloud agreed.

"Okay, then why don't you guys head over to my place. No sense in staying at the Inn. Just tell Shera to break out some extra cots. I'll be back as soon as I can finish up here, but it'll probably not be till late."

Just then a man came running up, he seemed very agitated and was shouting Cid s name. Cid called and waved him over.

"What s all this about?" he demanded.

"Captain, you've got to come quick," he shouted as soon as he saw them. "The Turks have got Shera!"

* * *

"Why the hell didn't she have the sense to duck out of here when she saw them coming?" Cid said angrily. The were all standing in the living room of his house.

"I'm sure she would have if she had the opportunity," Tifa said.

"Don't count on it," Cid replied. "She never did have much sense. I've half a mind to just let them have her."

"You can't be serious," Tifa cried.

"No, I suppose not," he replied grudgingly. "But we know it's not her they want. What do you think they'll do it we don't show up?"

The Turks had left a message to meet them at the foot of the nearby mountains if they ever wanted to see Shera again.

"It's the Crystal Materia they want," Cloud said. "And they obviously have either a trade or a trap in mind. Shera is just a means to an end to them, but that doesn't mean they would just let her go if we don't fall for it. They can be ruthless if they have to. Remember, it was Reno who set off the bomb that destroyed the Sector 7 slums."

"We haven't forgotten," Barret said grimly.

"So what are we going to do then?" Cid asked.

They all looked at Cloud.

"We'll have to go see what they have to say, at least," he said after a minute. "But not all of us. Cid and Red, you two come with me. The rest of you stay here. This way, if it's a trap, they won't get all of us, and you'll have an opportunity to try to get us out of it if we have problems."

He walked over to Tifa, who did not look pleased with the plan, and took out the Crystal Materia.

"Here," he said. "You better hold on to this. If we do fall into a trap we have to be sure this doesn't fall into their hands."

She hesitantly reached out and took the materia from him. He turned and motioned for Cid and Red to follow him.

"Cloud," Tifa said as he walked toward the door.

He turned to look at her, and for a moment he thought she was going to protest.

"Be careful," she said finally.

"Later," he replied and led the others out the door.

* * *

They headed south out of town. The mountains loomed in front of them, and it wasn't long before they were walking up a steep path that wound into the foothills. They came around a narrow turn and saw the Turks standing idly on the path in front of them.

Cloud drew his weapon as the Turks turned to face them.

"I told you they'd show up," Reno muttered to Elena.

"Where's Shera?" Cloud asked grimly.

"Give us the Crystal Materia and we'll let her go," Reno suggested.

"I'm afraid my answer is the same as it was last time you asked," Cloud replied immediately. "Not likely."

Reno smiled.

"Where's the rest of your little party," he asked. "Sneaking around behind us?"

"We leave the sneaking to you Turks," Cloud answered. "They're not here. We don't need their help to take on the likes of you."

"Very arrogant of you," Reno replied. "Still, I think you may come to regret that. Shera is in a cave just down the path behind us. She's there for the taking if you can get past us. On the other hand, when we defeat you, the Crystal Materia will be ours."

"Apparently I'm not the only one who suffers from a touch of arrogance," Cloud replied. "Shall we have at it then?"

Cid and Red came up beside Cloud. This time Reno and Rude closed in immediately to battle Cloud and Cid, while Elena and Red stayed in the back and started out casting defensive spells. Reno knew Cloud's fighting skills well, and did not stand toe to toe with him, but instead dodged quickly in and back out, never giving Cloud a clear target. Most of the time Cloud's sword, fast as it was, cut only air. Even when he did get a hit, it was softened by the magical barriers, and Rude was quick to cast cure spells whenever one of his partners was injured. Still, Reno was spending so much time dodging Cloud's blows that he had little time to try to cause any damage himself.

The others seemed pretty evenly matched as well. Cid and Rude were trading blows to Cloud's left, but neither one seemed to be getting the better of the other. Occasionally Red or Elena would attack one of the others, or the whole group, with a materia spell, but each time the other would counter with a defensive spell or a cure.

They fought for some time, neither team seeming to get the upper hand. After a while they all were beginning to tire, with neither side seeming to gain an advantage. Cloud was just beginning to think that maybe he should have brought some of the others, when, as if by mutual consent, the Turks suddenly broke off the attack and turned and fled up the path.

Cloud hesitated for a moment, surprised by the suddenness of the retreat, Then he was after them. Not even looking to see if the others were following, he ran up the path and around the turn the Turks had just disappeared beyond.

Cid was right behind him. Red trailed a little behind.

"That seemed awfully easy," he commented, but the others did not appear to hear.

They came around the turn. There was no sign of the Turks, but a cave mouth loomed on the left ahead.

"That must be the cave," Cloud said. "C'mon."

He ran for the cave, the others following not far behind. About twenty yards in front of the cave mouth the ground suddenly opened up below them and they plunged down into darkness.

Cloud hit the water with a splash. The others almost landing on top of him. He came up to the surface immediately.

Not more water, he thought.

He looked around. They had fallen into a pool of dark water in what appeared to be some sort of deep shaft. The was a rotting wooden platform to their left, and beyond it a tunnel that led into the darkness. He looked up to see a square of light perhaps thirty feet above them.

Reno, Rude and Elena stepped out from behind some nearby rocks and walked over to the mine entrance they had so cleverly concealed. They looked in to see Cloud and the others looking up at them.

"I guess I forgot to tell you to watch that first step," Reno said with a smile.

"Cowards," Cid shouted. "You knew we were going to kick your ass. And I guarantee you we will as soon as we get out of here."

Reno laughed.

"I don't think you're in any position to make threats," he replied calmly. "We'd be happy to supply you with a rope, in exchange for the Crystal Materia, of course."

"Still trying to negotiate?" Cloud answered. "We don't need your rope. We'll find a way out ourselves."

Elena looked at them skeptically.

"Not likely," she stated.

"Have it your way," Reno said. "I didn't think for a minute that you would listen to reason. That mineshaft goes on for miles, but there is no other way out. If you go into those tunnels all you'll do is get yourselves hopelessly lost. You won't get far in any case. There's some very nasty creatures down there who don't like visitors. Say hello to them for us when you see them."

Reno laughed again and the they turned and walked away down the path. As soon as they were away from the mineshaft he turned to the others.

"We'll let them rot in there for awhile. It's likely that something down there will kill them all and save us the trouble. Then we can just go down and help ourselves to the Crystal Materia. In the meantime I think we might want to head back to Rocket Town. Cloud is no fool. It just might be that he left the materia with the others."

* * *

"I'm sure they're fine," Barret said.

Tifa did not reply, but continued pacing nervously around the room. She would have felt better if she had gone with Cloud. And she would have felt much better if he hadn't given her the Crystal Materia. For some reason just knowing that she had it filled her with foreboding. She wished he had given it to someone else. She had almost asked Barret to take it a several times, but had changed her mind each time.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. They all looked at each other.

No one had any suggestions as to who it might be.

Barret shrugged and walked over to the door. Cait and Yuffie went to either side as Barret opened it.

"Well, I'll be damned," Barret said, suddenly breaking into a grin. "This really is turning out to be just like old times."

He stepped out of the way as Vincent Valentine walked in.

"Vincent," Cait and Tifa both said in surprise.

Vincent looked at tehm all grimly as he came in.

"It is good to see you all again," he said. "But I am afraid this is more than a social visit. It appears we both need each other."

"What do you mean?" Barret asked. They walked over and all sat down around a table in the living room.

"Cloud is walking into a trap. The Turks are going to lure him into an abandoned mine, then either finish him off or let the creatures in the mine do it. Then they'll take the Crystal Materia for themselves."

Tifa shook her head. .

"They can't get the materia from him."

"Why not?" Vincent asked.

"Because he doesn't have it," Tifa replied.

"I see," Vincent said. "Then he'll have nothing to negotiate with. In any case, if he ends up in the mine he'll never get out by himself. The mine is a huge maze. There are ways out, but you have to know the way. I can get him out, but it's too dangerous to go by myself. I also know where they're holding Shera. If you come with me, I think we can get them all back safely."

Barret was looking at Vincent with a strange expression on his face.

"That's all well and good," he said, "but how do you know all this?"

Vincent returned his gaze evenly.

"I know because I know who hired the Turks. I know because it's someone I'm very close to, or was. I know because it's..."

He paused, and for a moment Barret thought he saw a great sadness in Vincent's eyes.

"Lucrecia," he said finally. "Lucrecia hired them."

Yuffie looked at him with both puzzlement and shock on her face.

"But why would Lucrecia hire the Turks to fight us?" she asked.

"She didn't hire them to fight you," Vincent replied. "She hired them to get the Crystal Materia."

"But why?" Tifa asked.

Again he did not respond at first. At last he spoke the words as if it pained him to say them.

"You want to use the materia to bring back Aeris. But if it works it can bring back any of the Ancients, or maybe even her son."

The others looked at him in shocked silence.

"Sephiroth?" Yuffie exclaimed finally. "She wants to bring back Sephiroth?"

Vincent nodded.

"I'm afraid she's not thinking clearly," he said sadly. "In fact, it may be that she is not in her right mind at all. She doesn't seem to realize that Sephiroth nearly destroyed the planet, and was only out for his own gain and would have killed her along with all the rest of us. She's obsessed with the idea of bringing him back. She told me of her plans, she told me all about it. That's how I know so much, you see. But she turned against me when I opposed the idea. She called me a traitor, said I didn't really care about her at all. I wanted her to stop, I begged and pleaded with her to stop, but I couldn't get through to her. She's even attacked you, my friends, to get what she wants. I can't just stand by and watch her do it, I have to try to stop her, no matter how I may feel about it."

He ended lamely. The others looked at him sympathetically. All except Tifa, who was thinking about the Crystal Materia. She had never thought about the possibility that it could be used to bring back anyone but Aeris. It seemed to her now that obtaining it had been a foolish and dangerous thing to do, and their innocent quest to save her could turn into something dark and deadly, not just for them but for everyone on the planet. It would have been better if they had never found the materia, or if they just destroyed it. They would not be able to use it then, but no one else would either. She took it out and held it in her hand. It might be better for them all if she just smashed it right now.

She knew she couldn't do that. Whatever might happen, she couldn't destroy their last hope of resurrecting Aeris. At least not without Cloud's consent. She would just have to make sure the materia didn't fall into the wrong hands, but now the burden felt twice as heavy.

"So what can we do?" Barret asked.

"Come with me into the mines. I know them well. We can rescue both Shera and Cloud that way, but it is too dangerous to try by myself. It will still be dangerous, but we may be able to make it together. In any case, we should leave right away. The others are in grave danger."

"Good," Barret agreed. "But I don't think we should all go. Cloud wanted the Crystal Materia to remain here, and I don't see any reason to change that. Yuffie, you come with Vincent and me."

He turned to Tifa.

"You and Cait stay here. This way the materia is safe and someone is here to tell Cloud where we went, on the chance that he escaped the trap and comes back."

"I don't want to stay," Tifa protested.

"Don't argue with me," Barret retorted. "You know as well as I do that the materia has to be protected now more than ever. We just can't chance it."

Tifa sighed but said nothing. She did not like this latest development one bit, however.

"Okay, lets get going," Barret said.

They got up and started out the door.

"Take good care of things while we're gone," Barret said to Cait.

"Don't worry," Cait replied. "We'll make sure nothing happens to the materia."

Tifa said nothing, but just watched them walk out the door, more worried than ever.

* * *

"Well, it looks like we're not getting back out that way," Cloud said, looking up.

They were standing on the wooden platform next to the water. Red looked down the tunnel which was the only other way out. Cid sat on the edge of the platform smoking a cigarette.

"Do you think the others can find us here?" he asked.

"I suppose," Cloud replied. "But it might be hours before they get here. I don't think we have the time to waste. We've got to try to get ourselves out of this."

"So into the tunnels it is then?" Red asked.

"Into the tunnels it is," Cloud agreed.

The tunnel sloped slightly upward as they walked into it. Cloud was in the lead, his sword ready, Red behind him and Cid in the rear. Cloud didn't know whether the Turks had been bluffing about the creatures down here, but he thought it wise to be prepared for anything. It seemed unlikely that Reno would trap them down here without some sort of nasty surprise waiting.

The tunnel turned sharply and then divided in two. The right hand side plunged downward while the left seemed to remain level.

"So which way do we go?" Red said.

Cloud peered down each tunnel, listening carefully. Finally he shook his head.

"I guess we'll just have to pick one at random. We'll just keep making lefts," he decided. "This way at least we'll be able to find our way back."

He led them down the left hand passage. It was narrow and twisted, so they could not see very far ahead. They passed side tunnels half a dozen times, and each time chose the left hand passage. They went on for quite some time this way, always on guard but seeing nothing threatening. Time seemed to crawl by. Cloud wasn't sure how long they had been down here, but it seemed like hours. He was just thinking that maybe they would have been better off waiting for the others when they came around a turn and saw a flickering light ahead.

Cloud moved forward cautiously. He could see a large chamber ahead of them. It flickered with light that was obviously cast by fire. He edged up to the end of the passage and peered out. He could see fires burning brightly at either end of the chamber. In the center of the cavern stood a square wooden cage. Shera sat in one corner of the it, unmoving. At first he thought that, except for her, the room was deserted, but then a shadow flickered though the air. He looked up and saw that the ceiling was crowded with dark figures. He retreated back to the others.

"We've found Shera. But she's being guarded by giant bat like creatures."

He motioned for them to follow and led them back to the entrance so they could see for themselves, then they retreated again.

"There must be dozens of them," Cid said. "I don't think we can take them all on."

"If we can get Shera and get back into this tunnel we might be okay," Cloud said thoughtfully. "It's too narrow for them to use their numbers against us. They could only come at us one or two at a time. We could hold out a long time."

"A long time," Red agreed, "but not forever. It's not going to do us much good if we get Shera and can't find our way out. We have to find an exit first."

"We could spend hours looking for an exit," Cid countered. "And even then there's no guarantee that we'll be able to find our way back here, or that Shera will still be here when we do. I say we get her now while we have the chance and trust to luck to find the way out."

"It'll be twice as hard to search for an exit once we have alerted these creatures to our presence," Red retorted. "And it doesn't look like Shera will be going anywhere anytime soon. The prudent thing to do would be to find the exit first."

They both turned to look at Cloud.

He looked back down the passageway. It would make sense to find the exit first, but he felt pressed for time. He wondered what the Turks were up to while they were trapped down here. It seemed in hindsight that perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to split up the group. He had a feeling they had to get out of here as soon as possible.

"We'll get her now and trust to luck," he said. "But there are too many of them to just run out there. We need some kind of diversion."

They edged back to the entrance and looked out carefully. A narrow path led down from the tunnel they were in onto the main chamber floor. Shera's cage was perhaps thirty yards away, in the middle of the room with nothing around it.

"If one of us ran out there and attracted their attention," Cloud whispered," the others may have time to get Shera out."

"That's fine for everyone except the person who attracts their attention," Cid replied. "It won't do us any good to exchange one prisoner for another."

"If he could keep moving, he might be able to get back to the tunnel after we get Shera out," Cloud said. "It's risky, but I don't see what else we can do."

"So who's the poor fool who gets to go out there?" Cid asked.

"It's my idea," Cloud replied. "I'll go. As soon as you see them come after me, get Shera, then get back in the tunnel. I'll circle around the chamber and join you here."

"No," Red cut in. "I'll go. The job requires speed and agility more than strength. With my four legs I'm more than twice as fast as you. I'm the logical choice."

Cloud hesitated. He had not expected anyone to object, but he had to admit that Red had a point.

Finally he nodded.

"Okay," he said. "You just have to keep their attention for a minute or two. As soon as you see us get Shera, get back here as fast as possible."

"Right," Red replied. He crept up closer to the entrance and crouched down. He remained still, staring out into the chamber for a moment, only his tail twitching occasionally. Suddenly he leapt out as one of the bats flew by. He caught hold of it with his claws and they both tumbled to the floor together. Then he was up and dashing across the room. There was a flurry of activity above their heads and suddenly shadows began swooping down all around him.

Cloud waited a moment to give Red time to get far enough away from the tunnel entrance.

"Now!" he said, and ran out of the tunnel straight toward the cage, with Cid close at his heels. Shera looked up at the commotion when Red had run out, now she stood and turned toward them as she saw them coming.

Two bats swooped down out the sky, but with a flash of sword and spear they fell to the ground. Cloud and Cid ran on until they were next to the cage.

"Get back," Cloud said.

Shera stepped back and Cloud swung his sword. The wooden poles of the cage where no match for hardened steel. In seconds the poles were kindling and Shera was free.

"Now quickly, back to the tunnel," Cloud shouted.

They turned and ran back. Cloud chanced a look over to see how Red was doing. He could barely make him out in the tangle of shadows across the room, but he could see he was still on his feet. Some of the bats saw them and came back to attack, but most of them still clustered around Red. The few that got in their way were quickly dispatched. They reached the tunnel and stopped safely inside. Cid and Cloud turned to see Red fighting for his life against more than a dozen bats at the far end of the chamber. They both pulled out materia orbs.

Red scrambled along the wall, desperately trying to keep from being trapped. He knew the bats would overwhelm him if he had to stand and fight. He was quicker than they were, but their flying ability made up for that to a great extent. In spite of his speed he eventually found himself cornered.

Just then a double flash of fire and ice blasted the bats that had blocked him in to the left. Clawing ferociously at the bats nearby he broke free in that direction, then dashed back to the relative safety of the tunnel, where he paused with the others, panting.

"That wasn't as easy as I thought," he said.

"It s not over yet," Cloud replied. "Shera, are you okay?"

"Yes," she said. "I'm unhurt. Thank you."

"Save the thanks for later," Cid said. "Right now We've got to get out of here. Which way?"

"Like we said before, we have to trust to luck," Cloud replied. "Let's go."

He led them back the way they had come as fast as Red and Shera could go. At the first turn off he headed in a different direction. At each turn thereafter he picked a tunnel at random. He tried to keep track of all their twists and turns, but it was just about impossible. Every once in a while a bat, or a group of them, would block their path, or come up behind them, and each time they had to stop and fight. Soon Cloud was acutely aware that they were completely lost.

Even if they were lost, he knew the bats were keeping track of them. Though now they no longer attacked, he could hear the rustle of their wings behind them whenever they paused, and occasionally saw the red glint of their eyes. He knew the bats could not take them in the narrow tunnel, but how long would that last? They couldn't run around down here forever.

He turned into another tunnel which led down a steep set of steps. At the bottom they stopped at the entrance to a large chamber, so dimly lit that they could not see the other side. Cloud stopped them and turned to look back up the stairs. He could see dark forms coming down the steps. He hesitated for a moment, unsure. The steps were safer, but they would have to fight there way all the way back. He looked around the chamber. It appeared empty. Perhaps they could get across quickly.

"C mon" he said, and ran out into the room. The others swiftly followed. As they neared the center of the room he saw the dark outline of another tunnel ahead of them, but before they reached it a figure stepped out of the tunnel as raised it's hands.

Instantly the cavern was filled with light as fires flared up to their left and right. They looked up to see that the ceiling above was literally crawling with bats. They halted and looked at the figure who stood in their way. In the firelight they could easily make out her features.

"Lucrecia," Cloud said.

* * *

"Would you sit down and relax," Cait said. "You're driving me crazy. I thought Barret was bad."

"I'm sorry," Tifa replied, but she did not sit down. "I can't help but worry. It's so frustrating to be sitting here when I know the others are in danger."

"I know how you feel," Cait replied. "But there's nothing we can do about it. I'm sure they'll all be fine."

"I know," she said. "It's just that it seems like hours that they've been gone. Don't you think they should have been back already? How long do we have to sit here and wait?"

Cait shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied. "Even if they get into trouble, I'm sure one of them will be able to get back here. It could take them a long time. They weren't going on a picnic, you know. At any rate, I don't think it would help if we ran off as well."

Tifa shook her head. What Cait was saying was true, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She just wished they'd get back!

Cait was concerned as well. Even though he had confidence in his friends abilities, it had been a long time that they had been gone.

"I'm worried too," he said. "But it s not going to help. Come and sit down and have a drink. Your nerves are shot, and it'll help you relax."

Tifa didn't think it would do much good, but she was about to accept his offer when they heard footsteps outside the door.

"Finally," she said. She started over to the door but stopped when it opened to reveal Reno and Rude.

Cait jumped up out of his seat.

"Run, Tifa," he cried. "I'll hold them off!"

Tifa turned to run for the back door, only to see Elena coming from the kitchen behind them, cutting her off.

Reno stood in the doorway and folded his arms across his chest.

"You sure know how to make a person feel unwanted," he said casually.

"What do you want?" Tifa questioned fiercely.

"I think you already know that," Elena responded.

"You're not getting the Crystal Materia," Cait said angrily.

Reno looked at Rude.

"I told you Cloud wouldn't bring it with him," he said smugly. Then he looked at Cait.

"Thank you for verifying that for us," he said. "I'm afraid that you don't have much choice. You're no match for us without your friends. Hand it over and we won't be forced to hurt you."

Tifa looked around desperately. Now that she realized what they were planning she knew she could not let the materia fall into their hands, but she also knew that they were probably right. She and Cait couldn't defeat them alone.

Still, she knew she had no choice but to defend the Crystal at all costs.

Without a word she slowly walked over to Reno, head bowed. A smile spread across his lips, but it disappeared as she suddenly launched a vicious kick at his groin. He dodged enough to take it on the hip instead, but it still knocked him off his feet. He stumbled back and fell to the floor.

"We're more than a match for the likes of you," she said defiantly.

For an instant he did not move, then he turned and slowly got up. He looked at her furiously.

"You're going to pay dearly for that," he said.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," said a strange voice.

They all turned to see a someone standing in the doorway. He wore a black cloak and was carrying a long sword, and for a moment Tifa almost gasped in shock because she thought it was Sephiroth. But looking at his face she saw it was not. The man had short dark brown hair and darker features than Sephiroth, though the same green eyes that glowed as the mark of SOLDIER.

"Who the hell are you?" Rude questioned.

"That's not really important," Tarkin replied, looking at Reno. "What is important is that you are interfering in something you do not understand. Things you cannot understand. None of your small minds can comprehend what you are really dealing with here. You are like children playing with a deadly weapon, and it's just a matter of time before you do something that will destroy you all."

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Elena demanded.

"It is not nonsense, " Tarkin countered. "It is deadly serious. It is also unimportant. It doesn't really concern me whether you destroy yourselves or not. What does concern me is the Crystal Materia. I am afraid I cannot let you take it. In fact, I can assure you that it would be in your best interests to just walk out the door right now and never bother these people again."

"C'mon Reno," Elena said, "let's just kick his butt too..."

She stopped as Tarkin turned and looked at her sharply. Tifa could almost feel the power emanating from him. She had felt the same feeling from Sephiroth, and she shuddered inwardly. Even though he didn't look like him, they way he spoke, the way he acted and moved, all reminded her vividly of their former foe.

"I don't know who you are, but we don't need any help," she found herself saying, even though she knew it was not true.

"Be silent," he said and turned to stare at her. The look hit her like a physical blow.

He turned back to look at Reno. For a long time they just stood there, staring at each other, and Tifa could feel the power flowing between them. Finally Reno looked away.

"Maybe this isn't the right time," he said slowly. He looked at the other two.

"C'mon, let's get out of here."

Elena seemed about to protest, but Tarkin looked at her again and she said nothing. The Turks turned and walked slowly out of the room without another word.

Tifa felt totally lost. Who was this guy and where did he come from? How did he know so much about what they were doing? She wanted to thank him for helping them, but she had the distinct feeling that he hadn't done it for their benefit. In fact, she felt that she was in greater danger now than they had been when confronted by the Turks. She suddenly realized that she was slowly backing away from the man.

He turned to look at her again, and laughed coldly. Even that reminded her of Sephiroth.

"You have no need to fear me," he said softly. "At least, not yet."

He looked over at Cait for a moment, then, still chuckling, turned and strode deliberately out the door.

Tifa looked at Cait, but he said nothing. She quickly walked over to the door. She could see the man walking away. She closed the door, turned, and leaned up against it.

"Now that was really weird," she muttered.

Tarkin continued down the road, still laughing to himself. The irony of actually helping Cloud and his friends was just too much, he thought, shaking his head. Lucrecia was such a fool sending the Turks to interfere. She could have ruined everything without even realizing it. As it was she had forced him to reveal himself. He really didn't think that would matter now, but one never knew. The funny thing was that they were both working for the same goal. It wasn't enough to bring Sephiroth back, Cloud also had to pay for what he had done. But she was so shortsighted! Let them keep the materia, let them do the dirty work. She didn't see that in order for the revenge to be perfect, Cloud had to be the one to bring the materia into the lifestream. Cloud had to be the one to bring back Sephiroth!

* * *

Lucrecia looked at them darkly.

"You have slain my son," she said. She spoke evenly, neither angrily nor sadly. "But you have also obtained the means to bring him back to me. You can redeem yourselves. You can right your wrong. Give me the Crystal Materia so I can have my son back."

Cloud glanced up. There seemed to be hundreds of bats in this room. Many more than had been in the previous chamber, and they were out in the open, exposed.

"Lucrecia," he said slowly. "We didn't want to hurt your son. But don't you see what he was doing? He was going to destroy the planet. He was going to destroy all of us. We had no choice."

"He would not have done it," she answered sharply. "I know he did some things he shouldn't have. I know he had his problems. But they weren't his fault, and he could not have done all these things he was accused of. Now give me the Materia. I know you didn't mean to hurt him. I do not wish to hurt you, I do not wish to see any further death. But you must give me the Materia."

Cloud looked at the others.

"Should I tell her we don't have it?" he whispered.

"I don't think she'll be too happy to hear that," Cid observed.

"I suppose not," Red agreed, "but she's going to find out eventually."

Cloud glanced around one more time, but there was no where to run. He decided to tell her the truth.

"We don't have it," he said.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"We didn't bring it with us," he replied. "We thought it would be too risky. We left it with the others."

Lucrecia stared at them, and Cloud saw a look of anger pass across her face.

"I should slay you all," she said sternly. "But I will not kill you needlessly. You shall remain here as my prisoners. You shall never see the light of day again unless the Crystal Materia is delivered into my hands."

"Lucrecia, stop this."

They all turned to see Vincent, Barret and Yuffie walk into the cavern from a tunnel off to the right. Lucrecia stared at them, anger plain on her face.

"I told you never to come back here!" she said sharply.

"I'm only here to help my friends," Vincent replied. He walked over to Cloud, seemingly unconcerned by Lucrecia's anger or the bats flew restlessly above their heads.

"Is everyone all right?" he asked.

"We're fine," Cloud replied.

"Good," he said. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

"They must give me the Crystal Materia!" Lucrecia shouted.

Vince turned and looked at her angrily.

"Leave them alone," he said. "They did nothing wrong. Sephiroth would have killed them if they hadn't killed him first. Just like he killed all those other people."

"I won't listen to you!" she cried angrily. "They must stay here. If you try to leave I will have my bats destroy you all!"

"Your bats will not attack me," Vince replied evenly. "I have just as much power over them as you. They will not harm my friends while I am here."

He motioned for them to follow and walked back over to Barret and Yuffie.

"Vincent!" Lucrecia said. "Do not defy me. Help me. You cared for me once. Those feelings can't be all gone. You couldn't help me then, but do so now. Help me get my son back!"

Vincent stopped and looked down at the floor. Slowly he shook his head.

"Give up this foolish quest before it destroys you," he finally said.

"I cannot," she replied. "It is all I have left."

"If you believe that than you are already dead," he replied. "But I don't believe that. My friends and I are leaving. The only way to stop us is to kill us. Do you wish to add more blood to your son's legacy?"

He motioned for the others to head back to the tunnel he had first emerged from.

"Please don't do this," Lucrecia said, and now there was no anger in her voice, only sadness.

They walked into the tunnel. Vincent last. He turned and looked back at her one more time. She stood unmoving in the firelight, no longer looking foreboding or evil, just very much alone.

"It doesn't have to be like this," Vincent said. "Come with us. Help us attempt to heal some of the damage Sephiroth did. In the end you might heal yourself as well."

"My wounds are too deep for that," she answered.

For a moment more he looked at her, then he turned and followed the others into the darkness.

* * *

"So this guy just walked in and scared the Turks off without any explanation?" Barret asked.

Night had fallen by the time the others returned. Now they were all gathered in Cid's living room.

"That's right," Tifa replied. "It was the strangest thing."

"And you have no idea who he was," Cloud said.

"No, I've never seen him before. Have you, Cait?" Tifa said, looking at him closely.

Cait shook his head.

"Never."

"Well if that don't beat all," Barret said. "Looks like we've got a mysterious benefactor on top of everything else."

"Whoever he was, he was not our friend," Tifa replied quickly. "I'm sure of that. There was an unmistakable feeling of coldness about him. It seemed to me he wouldn't have thought twice about slitting our throats if he thought it necessary."

"So then why did he help you?" Cid questioned.

"I don't know," Tifa said. "I don't think he did it for us. For some reason, he did not want the Crystal Materia to fall into the Turk's hands. I think he has his own plans for the Materia, but what that might be, I have no idea."

"If that were true, then why didn't he take it from you himself?" Cloud asked.

"I don't know," Tifa said emphatically. "The whole thing just doesn't make any sense to me. I had the feeling that if he had wanted the materia, he could have taken it from us. I don't know what stopped him. I don't know what his plan is, but one thing I know for sure, he doesn't have our best interests in mind."

They all fell silent, digesting this newest information. Cloud did not like this latest twist in their adventure. He had thought things were becoming clearer now that they knew who the Turks were working for, and what they wanted, but now this. What was he supposed to make of this? Who was this person? What was he after? Was he friend of foe? Tifa obviously thought he was a foe, and he had no reason to distrust her judgement. But if so what did he want, and how did he know so much about them? It disturbed him that he had no answers to these questions, but even with these new developments their mission was unchanged.

"Irregardless of whether this person is working for or against us, we still have a mission to complete," he said. "Cid, you didn't get to tie up the loose ends on the rocket today as you had planned. Can we still leave tomorrow morning, or will we have to postpone it?"

Cid shrugged.

"We can go," he said. "I was just being a mother hen. The rocket is in good hands, and they can live without me for a few days. If we take the Bronco it shouldn't take much longer than that. Tomorrow morning will be fine."

"Good," Cloud replied. "Well, I suggest we all relax for a while and then get a good night's rest. Whoever this mysterious person is, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him. I've a feeling what he is up to will be apparent soon enough."

Cid grunted in agreement and the gathering broke up. Most of the others went off into the rooms where they were going to be sleeping. Cid turned to look at Shera, who was cleaning up in the kitchen.

"Shera, what the hell are you doing?" he asked .

She looked at him questioningly.

"Cleaning up," she responded. "Sorry I didn't have time earlier."

"You've had a tough day," he said. "Go get some rest. You can clean up tomorrow."

She put the cup she was holding down on the counter.

"Okay," she said. "Thank you, for everything."

"There's no need to thank me," he said quickly. "Now go on."

She walked out of the room. Cid watched her go, shaking his head.

"You're lucky to have her."

Cid jumped. He turned and saw Vincent sitting in a darkened corner of the room. He had thought he and Shera were alone.

"Her? What are you crazy?" he responded. "She's caused me nothing but trouble since the first day I met her."

"She is devoted to you, and it is obvious you care for her more than you let on. Don't make the mistake of taking her for granted."

"Oh please." Cid began, then "...is it really that obvious?"

Vincent nodded.

"Man, I must be losing my touch," Cid muttered.

"I envy you, my friend," Vincent said slowly.

"Oh stop it," Cid said. "My life ain't so great. And things could get better for you too. I'm sure Lucrecia will come around."

Vincent shook his head.

"I have little hope of that," he said sadly. "All I've ever wanted to do was please her, and something has always prevented it from happening. If anything the rift between us has grown, and now the gap is so wide that I am afraid no bridge can span it. She has been poisoned by life's bitterness, and the flower I once knew has grown withered and dry. Even if I were to grasp it in my hand now, it would merely turn to dust."

Cid didn't know what to say. He never considered himself what you would call a deep thinker, and Vincent's philosophical bent usually went right over his head. This was way too heavy for him. Still, it didn't take a genius to see that his friend was in a darker mood than was usual, even for him.

"I think you need to relax for a while and forget about your troubles" he said, walking into the kitchen. " And there's nothing better at helping you do that than a stiff drink."

* * *

"Barret."

He turned as he was about to enter his room and saw Tifa coming up to him.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I wonder if you can do something for me," she said.

"Name it," he replied.

She hesitated.

"It's probably nothing," she said finally. "Just kind of a feeling I got. I wouldn't want to bother the others with it. And I certainly wouldn't want to spread any unfounded rumors."

She stopped again, as if not sure how to continue.

"Just spit it out," he prompted.

She nodded.

"I want you to keep an eye on Cait."

He frowned.

"What makes you say that?" he questioned.

"Like I said, just a feeling," she replied. "He hasn't done anything to make me suspicious, not really. But he deceived us once when he was spying for Shinra. I would hardly say it's a stretch to think that he might do it again."

Barret looked at her like he thought there was more to this than she was letting on, and indeed, that was exactly what he thought. If she had suspicions about Cait, why had she waited until now to broach them to him? In spite of her statement to the contrary, he must have done something.

"Sure, I'll keep an eye on him if you want me to. I have to admit it's difficult to trust Cait after what he did in our last adventure," he said bluntly. "But in the end he helped us fight against Sephiroth and Shinra. Not to mention that he helped us find the vault at Shinra headquarters just recently. You didn t seem to harbor any suspicions then. Did something happen while we were gone?"

She hesitated again, which made him sure he was right. The only question was whether she was going to share the information with him or not.

"Like I said," she replied. "I don't want to spread any rumors. Especially since I could be reading this completely wrong. It's just that before our mystery man left, he and Cait looked at each other and I thought I saw something in the way Cait looked at him. There was something in his eyes. Something like..."

Barret looked at her impatiently.

"Like what?" he blurted out.

"Recognition," she replied slowly.

* * *

"Cloud."

Aeris voice. He heard her as clearly as if she were standing in the room right next to him, and for a moment he almost opened his eyes to look. But he didn't. He knew the voice was in his head, yet he also knew that it was not from his own mind that the voice came. He had no doubt that the voice was her's, and her's alone, even though she might not be in the room with him but someplace far away.

"Aeris," he said without speaking. "Aeris, we're coming for you."

For a long time there was no answer, and he sensed some kind of hesitation or perhaps confusion. But her voice was calm and even when she spoke again.

"It is not necessary."

Now he felt confused himself.

"Don't you understand?" he said. "We want you to come back."

He sensed amusement.

"But I haven't gone away," she replied. "I've been there with you all along, just as you have been with me. We are all part of the planet, no matter what form we take. You have no need to feel sorry for me, or for what happened."

Cloud shook his head.

"But I don't just want you to be here in spirit," he replied. "I want you here for real. I want to see you standing before me. I want to see you and touch you. I want to bring you back to this life and I think we may have found a way. Are you telling me you don't want to come back?"

"Being there in spirit is real," she replied softly but emphatically. "Your senses tell you that is not true, but your senses can be deceived. But no, I do not begrudge you your quest. I just want you to be sure of your motives. You owe me nothing. What happened was my fault, if anyone's, but I chose freely, and I accept my fate. You must decide if you are searching for me or yourself."

"I don't understand," he said.

"Let go of your anger and your guilt," she replied, "and then do as your heart tells you."

"My heart tells me to go on," he said immediately.

"But your heart is troubled," he said. "and that prevents you from seeing things clearly. You do not see the road ahead, it is dark and dangerous, and going down the wrong path will lead you swiftly to disaster. You may find that it demands sacrifices you are not prepared to make. You must be sure of yourself."

"We've been down many a dark and dangerous road before," he said.

"Indeed, but this time..."

Then there was silence.

"Aeris?"

Cloud waited, but he got no response, and suddenly he felt deeply troubled. He thought something had happened to her. Someone, or something, had abruptly cut her off, even as she had been in the middle of trying to tell him something important. What had happened?

He called to her for some time, but there was only silence. Try as he might, he could not reestablish contact. Eventually, and inevitably, he fell into a fitful sleep.


	7. Nor Par Tellemar

CHAPTER VII

_NOR PAR TELLEMAR..._

Cloud opened the hatch on the submarine and they all stepped out, looking around. They had surfaced in a large cavern. A pale green glow surrounded them, the unmistakable glow of the lifestream. It filled the air, growing stronger toward the back of the cave, which slowly shrank until it turned into a narrow but brightly lit tunnel.

They had returned to the sub without incident in the Tiny Bronco. Cid quickly diagnosed the problem with the submarine and corrected it. And now here they were, late on the day after they left Rocket Town.

"Looks like your vision from Aeris was correct," Vincent said, looking at Cloud.

Cloud nodded. He had never doubted it.

"So where do we go from here?" Cid asked.

They turned to ask Red and realized for the first time that he had not yet come out of the submarine. But even as they noticed this he appeared. He looked at them soberly.

"I have been attempting to translate the exact procedure we need to follow in order to successfully complete our mission," he said, walking over to them slowly. "And I am afraid I have discovered something extremely disturbing."

They all waited for him to continue. Cloud knew Red had been working hard, and had spent almost all his time the entire trip with his nose buried in that book.

"We can bring Aeris back," he said, "but to do it requires the sacrifice of someone else."

"What?" Barret exclaimed.

"It's not so much a resurrection as an exchange," Red said slowly. "In order for it to work someone else will have to die."

They all looked at him in shocked silence. Standing beside Cloud, Tifa went deathly pale.

"Are you sure?" Yuffie asked.

"As certain as I can be," Red replied. "The translation is difficult, but I have analyzed it over and over, and it seems pretty clear. The procedure itself is relatively simple. We need to be in the lifestream, a step we've already accomplished," he said, glancing around them. "The next step is to find a flux, a place of power, which would manifest itself as something familiar to us."

"What's that supposed to mean," Barret asked.

"We need to enter the lifestream and look for someplace familiar," Red explained. "Someplace we know from the surface of the planet. It could be a town, or any familiar location. In this place will be a focal point, a bright area of intense light. This is the doorway. Standing there and holding the Crystal Materia, all the person has to do is ask for someone's return."

"Just say, hey, bring back Aeris?" Cid asked.

"Not exactly," Red said. "You must ask in the Ancients language. You have to say _Nor par tellemar_ and then the name of the person. Then you are both transferred through the doorway."

"Bringing the other person back and sending you...", Vincent said, "elsewhere."

"Exactly," Red replied.

"What were those words again?" Tifa asked.

Red looked at her.

"_Nor par tellemar_ and then the person," he replied. "Then the exchange takes place. But if we continue with the mission, who would use them? I'm afraid this changes things drastically. I think the question now is, do we continue the mission at all?"

The others were silent for a long time. From the looks they gave him, it was clear to Cloud they were waiting to hear his opinion. All except Tifa, who moved off by herself and did not look at him at all.

So this must have been what Aeris meant when she had spoken of a sacrifice, he thought. She hadn't been kidding. This was a doozy. It seemed a shame to end the mission now, when they had come so far, but he knew he could never ask any of the others to make such a sacrifice. And even if he did so himself, would that be what Aeris wanted? Would she want someone else to have to die, even to save herself?

There had to be another way.

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do?" he asked, not because he thought there was, but because he desperately needed another option.

"I don't think so," Red replied. "There is still some more translating that needs to be done, and perhaps another option will reveal itself then, but it's doubtful."

"Well then I think you should continue with your translating as quickly as possible," Cloud replied. "What we have now is unacceptable. We need another alternative."

"I'll do what I can," Red replied. "But I don't know how long this will take, and it may be that there are no other alternatives."

"We'll just have to face that when we come to it," Cloud replied.

Red nodded, then turned and padded back into the submarine.

"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Yuffie questioned.

"Sit down and relax," Cloud replied. "Looks like we're going to be here awhile."

Barret grumbled.

Cait strode over to Cloud.

"I'm afraid we don't have much time," he said.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.

"Tarkin is here," Cait responded.

"Who the hell is Tarkin?"

Barret perked up and walked over to join them.

"The man who stopped the Turks from taking the Crystal Materia," Cait answered evenly.

"So you did know him!" Barret exclaimed. "You really are spying!"

"No!" Cait said quickly. "Not exactly. I was just keeping him informed of where we were, and where we were going. But I was really trying to find out what _he_ was doing so I could tell you."

"What?" Barret said angrily.

"I know he wants to use the Crystal Materia to bring back Sephiroth."

"What?" Barret said again.

"But that's the same thing Lucrecia wanted to do," Vincent said. "It that were true, why didn't he just let the Turks take it and give it to her? It seems to me it would have saved him some trouble."

"I'm not sure," Cait replied. "That's what I was trying to find out. He has something else in mind. Something more. I don't know what it is, but I know it involves you, Cloud. He wants to make sure that you are the one who brings the Crystal Materia into the lifestream. But I don't know why. That's why he stopped the Turks, and that's why he's been sending you those dreams."

"What?" This time it was Cloud's turn.

"He has something called Influence Materia," Cait said, looking at Cloud sympathetically. "It works kind of like Manipulate. But with Manipulate you know you're being manipulated, and you fight against it, although you may not be successful. Although it can be used that way as well, Influence is usually more subtle, and can affect you without you even realizing it. With Influence, you think what you are doing is your own idea."

Cloud stared at him for a long time.

"And you're telling me that he's used this to make me think that Aeris is trying to contact me."

Cait nodded.

"I'm afraid so. I know he's been using it on you for a long time. It was given to him by Sephiroth, and I've a feeling Sephiroth used it on you as well, which kinds of puts everything that happened to us in our previous adventure in a new light. But the whole point behind his maneuvering was to get you here with the Crystal Materia. I pretended to spy for him because I wanted to find out exactly what he was up to, but now it's too late."

"You say he's here," Yuffie cut in, "but how did he get here? Does he have a submarine too?"

"No," Cait replied. "There are many entrances to the lifestream, if you know where to look."

"Why didn't you tell us any of this sooner?" Barret questioned.

"Because if he found out I told you, I wouldn't be able to find out what he was up to, now would I?" Cait answered sharply. "I don't know the full extent of his powers, I don't know what other spies he may be employing. I didn't want to show my hand before I found out anything, but now I'm afraid I have no choice. I didn't want you to run into him unprepared."

Cloud looked at him for a long time. He felt anger, disappointment, and disbelief, and he wasn't sure which of these emotions to go with. Was it safe to believe anything Cait told them? Once a spy always a spy, hadn't he said that once before? How were they to believe him now? How were they to know that anything he said held even a shred of truth?

The real truth, he told himself, was that he didn't believe the story, couldn't believe the story, because of what Cait had said about Aeris. Could it be that the whole thing was a lie? Could it be that he had been manipulated again, that this entire mission had been a farce, a charade caused by yet another Sephiroth clone? Could it be that he had not seen Aeris, not talked to her at all, but just some illusion that had been planted in his brain? Could it be that she was really and forever dead?

He could not believe that. No way.

Barret shook his head.

"Looks like you were sort of right, Tifa..." he started to say. He stopped and looked around.

Tifa was no where to be found.

* * *

The ground sloped sharply down in front of her. Tifa moved slowly down the tunnel. The lifestream flowed around her now almost like a living thing. She moved forward slowly, as if unsure of herself, and a few times she hesitated and looked back, but each time she took a deep breath, turned ahead once more, and moved on.

As soon as she had heard Red she had been gripped by a deadly fear. She knew what Cloud would do, no matter how much he delayed, or how long they discussed it. There really wasn't any other choice.

Which gave her no choice. She couldn't let it happen. She had to act before he did or it would be too late. She slowly took out the Crystal Materia and looked at it, thankful that he had never asked for it back. It glowed faintly with reflected green light of the lifestream.

The best thing to do would be to destroy it, she thought once more. It was the simplest solution, and probably the easiest thing to do. But she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't take away this chance on her own. Though it might be prudent it wouldn't be fair to Cloud or Aeris. She wished she could bring it back to Cloud to let him destroy it, but she knew that would never happen.

The tunnel dipped even more steeply down, and suddenly she lost her footing. She felt herself sliding down rapidly. She grasped desperately for handholds but found none. The air around her grew bright and she found herself falling, much as she had in Mideel the last time she had been in the lifestream. She seemed to fall for a long time.

She stopped falling and the bright green glow faded into blue sky and wooden thatched houses. She looked around and immediately recognized where she was. Nibelheim!

She walked slowly into the center of the town, which appeared to be deserted. She looked around. One building stood out. It's windows were brightly lit with a greenish glow. It was the old Shinra Mansion.

She walked swiftly over to it and entered. She followed the glow, which brightened perceptively to the right. She found herself walking though the secret door that led into the basement.

The stairs down creaked and groaned as she walked down them, but they held, and nothing disturbed her as she walked down the now brightly lit corridor and into the old library.

There she stopped. For in front of her was what appeared to be a circle of light, and she knew she had reached her destination.

She stood there unmoving for a long time, looking down at the Crystal Materia in her hand.

She couldn't let Cloud sacrifice himself. She couldn't live with that. There was no other choice. But still she did not move.

She took a deep breath and with all the resolve she could muster started forward.

"Foolish girl."

She jumped and turned to see Tarkin standing a few feet away.

"Stay away from me," she said, taking a step back.

He laughed.

"Don't worry," he said. "I have no intention of harming you as much as you seem to want to harm yourself. Foolish, and noble too, but your attempted sacrifice would have been useless. Apparently there are still some things you don't know. The Crystal Materia cannot effect a transfer unless both people are of the Ancients race or infused with Jenova's cells. It wouldn't have worked for you."

"What do you want?" she asked, somewhat defiantly. She had gotten over her surprise.

"I want to see the return of Sephiroth," Tarkin replied. "And revenge against the one that destroyed him. And I must say that your little escapade has played right into my hands. I'm sure he'll come running when he finds out you are gone. In the meantime why don't you just give me the Crystal Materia. Don't worry, I'll take good care of it until he gets here. I wouldn't want anything to happen to it."

She stepped back again and felt her back touch the bookcase against the wall.

"I don't think so," she said.

"What, don't you trust me?" he said with a smile. "I assure you I have every intention of seeing that Cloud takes possession of it as soon as he arrives. It'll be the perfect revenge, don't you think?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said suspiciously

"Well, it's just so ironic," Tarkin replied. "Here Cloud has come all this way thinking he's going to bring back Aeris, when the whole time he's just been my puppet. And his one final act will be to sacrifice himself to bring back not Aeris at all, but Sephiroth!"

Tarkin laughed again, and Tifa shrank back. She looked around, but he was blocking the only exit.

"It'll never happen," she said angrily. "He'd never use the Crystal Materia to bring back Sephiroth. You can't make him do it. And even if you could, I'd destroy it first."

She suddenly lifted the materia up above her head, ready to smash it to the floor, but he just laughed again.

"I don't think you'll do that," he said casually. "Cloud will bring back Sephiroth, and you will hand over that Materia. I'm afraid you have no choice."

He took a step toward her, and even as he did, the yellow orb in his hand flared to life.

* * *

"Where the hell did she run off to?" Cid exclaimed.

"I don't know," Barret said slowly, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He looked over at Cloud, who was staring off into space, a peculiar look on his face.

"No, she couldn't have," he said so softly that Barret barely heard him. He turned to look at the others.

"We've got to go after her," he said sharply. "NOW!"

Without waiting he was off, running down the cavern to the tunnel at the far end. The others were left with no choice but to pursue him as best they could.

He reached the tunnel and plunged onward. Things had gone terribly wrong, just as Aeris had predicted they might, if it was indeed Aeris who had contacted him. He still couldn't bring himself to believe it had not been her. But that was unimportant now, he thought, shaking his head. He had bigger problems right now, much bigger. He had to get to Tifa before it was too late. He had to get to her before she did something they would all regret. He wanted Aeris back, but not like that! Didn't she understand that?

And Tarkin, how was he going to figure in this? According to Cait, he was already here, could have been here for some time. Suppose he was lying in wait for them and she ran into him? He clenched his teeth at the thought of her confronting him alone. He could kick himself for not taking the Crystal Materia back from her, but who would have thought something like this would happen? If he couldn't trust Tifa with it, he couldn't trust anyone.

The tunnel sloped down sharply, but he didn't slow. If he could just get there in time. He wasn't sure how much of a lead she had, but it couldn't be that much. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes from the time she left until it was noticed. Still, he knew that he had to reach her as soon as possible. He couldn't help thinking back to another time when Aeris had run off, and what had resulted from that.

The ground dropped out from under him and he found himself falling. The green light grew around him. Looking up he could see some of the others falling as well, but he could not tell if they were all there. Eventually he stopped falling and the familiar background of Nibelheim faded in around him.

It always seems to come back to Nibelheim, he thought.

He looked around. Behind him he saw that the others had joined him, but he only afforded them a glance. He was looking for some hint to where Tifa had gone, and he was shortly rewarded when he saw the green glow of the Shinra Mansion. But even as he started towards it the Turks came around the corner of the Nibelheim Inn to his left, followed closely by Lucrecia.

Cloud was not surprised at all. He had had a feeling they were going to show up somewhere along the line. They were nothing if not determined. He would have liked nothing more than to fight it out once and for all, but right now he just didn't have the _time_.

Vincent came up beside him, obviously thinking much the same thing.

"You go on," he said. "I'll handle this."

"Not by yourself," Cloud said quickly. "Red and Barret, you're with me. The rest of you help Vincent."

He turned to look at the Turks.

"Sorry I can't stay and play, but I have more important things to do."

He sprinted off towards the Mansion, not waiting to see, nor much interested in, the Turks response. Red and Barret followed closely behind. They entered the Mansion and followed the light down into the cellar. A few moments later they entered the library.

The first thing they noticed was the glowing circle of green light in the center of the room. The second thing was Tifa She was chained to the wall on the far side of the room. Cloud felt tremendous relief.

_At least she's alive!_

A man in a black cloak stood next to her. Even though the man's facial features, except for the glowing green eyes, were striking different, the impression that he was looking at Sephiroth was so strong that it was almost overpowering.

Tifa looked up at him with a peculiar expression on her face.

"Let her go, Tarkin," Cloud demanded.

Tarkin raised an eyebrow.

"So you know my name," he said thoughtfully. "It appears my little spy has been indiscreet. But no matter. He did his job and got you here safely."

He pointed to a small table near the glowing light.

"There is the Crystal Materia," he said. "Take it. I will not interfere. Take it and finish what you came here for."

Cloud looked at the table. The Crystal Materia was not five feet away from him, much closer than Tarkin was.

"No," Tifa said, and when she spoke it seemed the words came out with great difficulty. "It's a trap."

Tarkin turned in surprise and glared at her.

"Be silent," he commanded.

"Leave her alone!" Cloud said angrily, and suddenly his sword was balanced in his hands.

"She is unhurt," Tarkin said quickly. "Take the Materia. Finish what you came here for."

Cloud stood unmoving for a moment.

"Let her go first," he said, finally. He pointed the sword menacingly at Tarkin.

Tarkin's face darkened.

"I said, take the Materia," he said sharply.

Yellow light flared up in his hand, and Cloud suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to do just as Tarkin had said.

He fought it, and for a long time he stood perfectly still, the desires balanced. But the power of the materia was much stronger than Cloud had thought. Slowly, and in spite of all he could do, he found himself taking a step forward.

Even as he did so Tifa shook her head and then looked up, the alertness back in her eyes.

"Cloud," she shouted. "Cloud, be strong. He wants to force you to use the materia to bring back Sephiroth. Fight it!"

Cloud stopped again, forcing himself with every fiber of his being to remain still. Tarkin took a moment to glance over at her, but he was too involved with trying to master Cloud to do anything about her. He realized he had made a tactical error. He could not control them both at the same time. He should have killed her when he had the chance.

No time to worry about that now. Summoning every power of concentration he had learned from his SOLDIER training, he bent all his will toward Cloud.

Cloud fought, but again felt himself weakening. Tarkin was just too strong. In slow motion he took yet another step forward and now stood right beside the table.

"No!" Tifa shouted. She pulled desperately on the chains and tried to strike out at Tarkin, but he was beyond her reach. She turned to the others.

"Help him!" she cried.

Red and Barret had been watching the process, not sure of the best course to follow, but Tifa's words galvanized them into action. Barret was not sure whether she had meant to help him mentally or physically, so he chose what came natural. He raised his arm and opened up with his gun.

Tarkin stumbled backwards, dodging desperately out of the way. But he could not avoid the blast of lightening launched from Red's materia.

Cloud felt his mind clear. Instantly he leapt forward and swung his sword.

Tarkin cried out in anguish. He backed away from them, holding his arm as the yellow materia fell to the floor. He stood there for a moment with his back to the wall, looking at them with undisguised hatred.

"Very well," he said grimly. "I tried to make it easy for you, but I see you are going to be less than cooperative. You force me to destroy your friends and drag you myself into the circle. So be it. Jenova rebirth!"

Light flashed around Tarkin. His body changed, shifted, grew larger and monstrous. He towered over them. His arms grew long and developed great gleaming claws. Another set of arms sprouted out below them. His face elongated and formed a muzzle, long sharp teeth protruding from it. Only the eyes remained the same, the green glowing pits still filled with hatred.

The creature let out a roar that rung in their ears and then there was a blast of green light. Cloud and his friends were thrown roughly back against the wall. Cloud immediately sprang up and forward, attacking viciously with his sword. Barret continued to fire, getting up more slowly. Red quickly cast cure on all of them. They had been caught off guard by the sudden attack, and it put them at a disadvantage.

Tarkin, or the thing that had been Tarkin, seemed to realize this and pressed his attack against them. In quick succession he cast half a dozen strong attacking spells, at the same time attacking ferociously with the claws on all his limbs. Cloud found himself forced backward, and try as he might, Red could not seem to catch up defensively. Tarkin seemed to be one step ahead of him whenever he made a move.

A clawed hand flashed out, and Cloud went down, thrown roughly back. He got up again slowly. Red cast cure on him again, but knew that he could not keep it up much longer. The constant casting of spells was exhausting him.

There was another green flash as Tarkin hit them with Ultima again. They all went down one more time.

Tarkin stepped toward Red, who was closest to him, and raised his claws. But as he did so he came into range of Tifa, who kicked suddenly and sharply at his knee. He stumbled and his blow went awry. Red got up and darted out of the way.

Tarkin turned and swung at Tifa with the back of a huge clawed hand. She had no way to dodge. The hand hit her solidly and she slumped to the ground.

Cloud saw red.

He reached down and pulled out a materia orb. He concentrated fiercely on it until it flashed with red light.

"Ultimate end!" he shouted.

Sudden sparkling light appeared all around Cloud. Multicolored stars flashed in and out of existence around him. Then he faded from sight.

The room darkened. Tarkin looked up suddenly. The ground around him seemed to bow downward. The room faded away into darkness. There was a rushing sound, as if the wind from a hurricane where whistling by him. Then a massive shape appeared out of the darkness. He saw bright glowing eyes, and then the flash of metal from a tremendous sword. He screamed in agony as he felt the sword bite. The world swirled about him.

Eleven more times the massive figure appeared. Each time a different one, each time with a different attack. Each one doing great damage.

Then there was a pause. He heard a rushing sound. Then, out of the darkness another pair of eyes. He could sense a tremendous bulk hurtling toward him, more massive than any of the others. The rushing sound grew until he thought a locomotive were bearing down on him. He saw the form of a huge knight glowering down at him from some great height. Another sword came up, then came crashing down. He felt himself falling, and then only darkness.

The multicolored lights flashed again, and then Cloud stood once more in the library. He looked at the crumpled body of Tarkin on the floor nearby. Tarkin moaned and opened his eyes, looking at him slowly, still shocked from the attack. He no longer looked in the least bit dangerous.

"It's over Tarkin," Cloud said simply.

Tarkin shook his head to clear it. He slowly stood up, though he barely seemed to have the strength. He looked around.

"You think you have won," he said slowly, "but it is not quite over yet."

With his remaining strength he lunged for the table and grabbed the Crystal Materia. Before the others could stop him he scrambled into the center of the circle of light. He turned and looked at them triumphantly.

"Stop!" Cloud cried, but it was too late.

_"Nor par tellemar_ Sephiroth!"

* * *

"It's going to be a pleasure to kick your butts," Cid remarked.

"If you used your fists as much as your mouths you might stand a chance," Rude said.

"And if you weren't for the fact that you have as many brain cells as you have hair, you'd realized that you don't," Yuffie quipped.

"Enough of this nonsense," Lucrecia said. "Destroy them."

The Turks advanced, and Cid, Yuffie and Cait faced off against them, while Vincent moved around them to reach Lucrecia. This time they did not wait for the Turks to attack, but struck first. They all felt they had to get this battle over with as quickly as possible.

The Turks moved into their usual fight formation. Reno and Rude in front, Elena in the back casting defensive spells. Neither Cid nor the others in his party were particularly defensive minded. They all pressed the attack, and any one of them would cast cure or barrier depending on whether the situation warranted it. Most of the time they attacked with their weapons or cast offensive spells, even if it meant taking damage themselves. This seemed to be the quickest way to finish the battle.

Cid glanced over at Vincent and saw that although Lucrecia was attacking him, he didn't seem to be fighting back. He didn't know what Vincent had in mind, or even if he had anything in mind, but he knew that was no way to win a fight. He felt more urgently than ever that they had to beat the Turks as quickly as possible.

He stepped back, pulled out a red materia and concentrated.

"Judgment Bolt," he said.

Nearby he heard Yuffie cry, "Tsunami."

And then Cait, "Tetra Disaster!"

Multi colored flashes of light appeared around all three of them. Then the Turks were hit by a triple dose of summoning power. In quick succession they were blasted by a dazzling bolt of lightening, then pounded by a great wall of water, and finally they were caught in the upheaval of the very earth around them. When it was done they fell back, but they still stood.

"Is that the best you can do?" Elena questioned.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Yuffie replied.

A short distance away Vincent stood his ground while Lucrecia blasted him with spells. Instead of fighting back he continued to try to reason with her. Their encounter in the cave earlier had proven that he could get through to her, even if he could not win her over. But this time she seemed intent on turning a deaf ear to him. And as she continued to hit him with spells he felt anger rising unbidden inside him.

"Please, Lucrecia, stop this. We are not enemies," he tried one more time.

She hadn't answered him once, and this time was no exception. He reeled back as fire flashed all around him. Suddenly he felt his anger well up inside him uncontrollably. For a moment he tried to hold it back, but once set in motion there was no turning back this tidal wave of rage. It overwhelmed him and he lost all sense of reason.

With a bestial howl his body suddenly transformed into that of a huge winged demon. It towered up over Lucrecia, a dark harbinger of death. It raised it arms, and huge flaming skulls appeared and shot through the air, striking Lucrecia again and again, until she was lost in the center of a blast of demonic flame.

The blast got the attention of all the others, and they paused for a moment in their own battle to look over. When the smoke cleared they saw Lucrecia on the ground, looking up at Vincent standing over her.

"You'll never stop me," she said, getting slowly to her feet. "The only way to do it is to kill me, and you won't do that. I swear to you I won't rest until Sephiroth is returned to me."

"What's Sephiroth got to do with this?" Elena said.

"That's why Lucrecia wants the Crystal Materia, you dolts," Yuffie answered. "She wants to use it to bring back Sephiroth."

They all looked at Lucrecia, who looked back angrily at the Turks.

"What are you waiting for," she said. "Finish them."

"Wait," Reno said before the others could move. They looked at him.

"I see now that perhaps it might have been wiser to delve a little more into the details of this assignment before we took it, and yes I realize that isn't ordinarily Turk policy," he said, looking at the others. "But there are exceptions to every rule. We all know what would have happened if Sephiroth had been allowed to complete his little scheme. I don't think I have any desire to give him a second chance at it."

"What are you talking about?" Lucrecia questioned. "You're working for me, now do as I say."

He looked at her sternly.

"Not anymore," he said simply. "It's time for another Turk first. We quit."

Lucrecia just stared at them for a long time with her mouth open. Then she turned to look at Vincent, and he could see defeat in her eyes.

"You might as well just kill me now," she said slowly. "I can't live without him."

"I think you can," he replied. "I think you are stronger than you believe. Come with us. Cloud still needs our help. There's still time to make things right."

She shook her head, but she did not object when he took her hand and led her over to the others.

"Now let's go see what kind of trouble Cloud has gotten himself in," he said.

* * *

The light suddenly brightened around Tarkin until they had to shade their eyes and turn away. For a long moment it blazed, then slowly faded away. Even after the light was gone Cloud hesitated to lift his head, knowing what he would see but not wanting to believe it could happen. He thought somehow that maybe something had gone wrong, that it hadn't worked. That if he looked up there would be nothing there at all.

But then he heard the laughter. That chilling familiar laughter, which confirmed without looking what he already knew but longed so desperately to deny.

He looked up. Sephiroth stood in the circle of light, looking from one to the other of them while still chuckling to himself. His gaze drifted to Cloud.

"I get the impression you're not happy to see me again," he said. He laughed again, and the sound went through Cloud like a knife.

"I admit I had hoped I was rid of your ugly continence for good," Cloud responded, attempting to sound casual. "But it looks like it didn't work out that way. Fortunately I see no reason why we can't quickly remedy that situation. We bested you once, I guess we'll just have to do it again."

Sephiroth laughed again. It was bad enough he had to be back, but did he also have to be so damn cheerful, Cloud thought.

"The mouse might have killed the cat once, but I wouldn't lay odds on it happening a second time," Sephiroth replied. "Besides, I've learned a few things while I was gone."

He raised his arms. There was a flash of light and a tremendous explosion. The entire room shook and Cloud and his friends were flung backwards. Cloud hit the wall hard behind him and fell to the ground.

"Shit," he heard Barret exclaim.

Cloud got slowly to his feet, his ears still ringing, and held his sword in front of him. Even as he did so he heard someone say something behind him. He turned to see Cid, Yuffie and Cait enter the room, followed by the Turks, and finally Vincent and Lucrecia. When she saw Sephiroth she stopped and her eyes grew wide.

"Sephiroth," she said softly. "My son."

Sephiroth turned his attention toward her.

"You, my mother?" he said dismissively. "You are not my mother. Jenova was my mother."

"No," Lucrecia said. "I am your mother. I was the one that bore you."

"You were a vessal, that is all" he replied disdainfully. "My mother was Jenova, it is her cells that gave me true life, not yours. You are just like the others. You are all of the race that stole this planet from my people. And now you will all pay for it!"

Sephiroth raised his arms again and there was another thunderous blast. Again they were all thrown to the ground.

"This is going to get tiresome real fast," Barret exclaimed.

Cloud pulled out the Ultima Materia.

"Let's finish this," he said grimly.

Barret and Vincent opened up with their weapons. Cid and Yuffie closed in with spear and shuriken, while Cait attacked with his materia. After Cloud blasted Sephiroth with the Ultima materia he glanced over to see that even the Turks were attacking Sephiroth. Only Lucrecia remained unmoving.

Red slipped around to the side of Sephiroth and came up beside Tifa, quickly releasing her. As they ran back to the others Red paused for a moment to pick something up.

In moments everyone was letting loose at Sephiroth with everything they had, but it seemed he had grown stronger somehow, for he was brushing off their attacks with little difficulty. He was no longer laughing, but the condensending smile remained on his face.

He launched his explosive attack twice more, and though Tifa and Red cast cure and wall as soon as they rejoined the others, the attack still did more damage than they could repair.

Red came up beside Cloud, and Cloud felt him press something into his hand. He looked down to see what it was, and then at Red. They said nothing but Cloud nodded in understanding.

Sephiroth launched his explosive attack again, and again they fell back. They got slowly to their feet, all except Elena who remained down.

"We can't take much more of this," Reno said, standing over her.

Sephiroth advanced on them slowly, realizing as well as they did that he was slowly overpowering them. As he advanced he suddenly noticed something lying on the floor next to him. He stopped for a moment and idly picked it up. Then he advanced again, stepping into the circle of light. He had been toying with them so far, but now he decided that playtime was over. He concentrated on his summon spell, and opened his mouth to utter the words.

"_Nor_..."

He stopped, and his mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. That was not what he had meant to say! He looked at Cloud and suddenly understood when he saw the yellow light blazing through Cloud's hands.

For a long time neither one moved as they battled mind to mind. Sephiroth knew he was stronger now, much stronger, and now that he knew Cloud was trying to influence him, he knew this failed excuse for a SOLDIER could not force him to do this. Concentrating fiercely, he took one slow step forward.

Tifa, who was standing to Clouds right, suddenly reached out her hand. While still concentrating on Sephiroth, Cloud slowly reached over and took it. Sephiroth suddenly felt the pressure on his mind increase.

Tifa reached out with her other hand, and Red took hold of it. Slowly and without a word, the other came over. First Cid, then Cait and Barret, and then Yuffie.

Sephiroth felt his mouth moving again and redoubled his efforts. Sweat dripped from his brow, but no words came out.

Yuffie felt someone come up beside her, and turned to see Rude next to her. Slowly he reached out and she took his hand. Then Reno stepped beside him along with a now recovered Elena. Vincent took her hand and looked silently at Lucrecia.

Lucrecia walked up next to Vincent, but she did not take his hand, instead just looked at Sephiroth. He stared back at her, concentration contorting his face, but for the first time they saw a hint of fear in his eyes.

"You are my son," she said softly. "And I love you. But you've been very bad."

She reached out and took Vincent's hand.

"_Nor_.." Sephiroth said again.

He shuddered as if he had been hit by a physical blow. His mouth twisted and a strange gagging sound came out.

"_Nor par tellemar_..." his face contorted and turned red with rage. His eyes grew wide and veins bulged on his forehead. Finally the word came out in a gurgling croak;

"Aeris."

The light flared up, and once again they had to turn away.

When the light faded Cloud looked up immediately, eagerly.

The first thing he noticed were green eyes, but these did not glow with the mark of SOLDIER, these were kind and tender, surrounding by Aeris delicate features and long brown hair.

"Aeris," he said softly, hardly believing it.

She smiled and stepped down out of the circle of light.

"It's good to see you again," she said, looking around at them all.

"I'll be damned, we did it," Barret said. He turned to look at Yuffie, who was still holding hands with him and Rude. They all hastily dropped hands and looked away from each other.

Cloud and Tifa walked up to Aeris, still holding hands. Cloud turned to. face the others and took Aeris hand with his free one, smiles on all their faces.

"Mission accomplished," he said triumphantly. "Now let's go home.!"

* * *

AUTHORS NOTE: This officially ends the story. I would like to say first that I think Final Fantasy VII is not only the best RPG, but the best game ever, period. I have tried to remain true to the spirit of the characters in the original game, although I have to admit my favorite character was Tifa, and my bias toward her may have shown through some. I thought the original game took an even handed approach toward each of the girls, and I tried to maintain that throughout my story. I admit some people might find this unsatisfying, including myself to some extent, but in all fairness I didn't feel it was right for me to choose between the two, especially since it is pretty obvious which one I would have chosen. The truth of the matter is when I first started writing this story I wasn't sure whether the resurrection of Aeris would be successful. But when I thought of the plot twist of having Sephiroth exchanged for Aeris, I knew it was just too good to resist. I hope you enjoyed my story and thought it a fitting continuation of the original, and if you have any comments please feel free to email me at .

* * *

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This is the first story in Frank Verderosa's Final Fantasy VII Internet Series, the stories that got me into fanfiction in the first place many years ago. The stories are not on ff, however, and they should be, because they're damn good. Since Frank disappeared from the scene over five years ago, I've taken it upon myself to post his series here. Aside from this publisher's note, not a single word of this story was written by me, mknote, and I take no credit for any of it. Hell, how could I? When it was first published, I was _ten_. I _still_ can't write this good, even after ten years. I have not edited this at all; I copied and pasted from an archive of Frank's site (the original went down years ago, and I had to search for the archive), so any grammatical errors remain. This was published (I think) in 1998, before _Advent Children_ was even thought of, so obviously it doesn't follow anything but the game. At any rate, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and still do.


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